


The Witching Hour

by cheshire_carroll



Series: Moonspell Series [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-07
Updated: 2016-09-07
Packaged: 2018-08-13 13:59:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 55,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7979221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheshire_carroll/pseuds/cheshire_carroll
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With her magic now at her fingertips, Bella Swan's whole world has widened. She's still in hiding, but she's no longer defenceless. But with giant wolves terrorizing the town, a string of vampire attacks up and down the coast and Luna taken by Death Eaters, Bella needs Edward more then ever. So why is he pulling away?</p><p>Set during Twilight and the Deathly Hallows:<br/> </p><p> </p><p>DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter or Twilight. I am only writing this for my amusement, and for others amusement. I am not writing this for a profit of any kind.<br/>DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the images used.      </p><p>Note: The time-lines have been fiddled with to make the story work</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue & Chapter 1

**PROLOGUE:**

It was cold and damp and the air was stale. A thin girl was huddled in the corner, hugging her knees. The overalls she wore were dirty and torn, and her long hair was knotted. Even when the cellar door crashed open, the girl didn't move, didn't even jump, just continued to sway from side to side, her eyes half closed and dreaming, not quite all there, off somewhere with the wrackspurts.

A tall, pale boy with rather pointed features approached. His wand, lit at the end and held tightly in a bony, trembling hand, was carefully trained on the girl. "You need to get up," the boy hissed at her. His voice was harsh, but the expression on the boy's face was terrified.

The girl stirred, her large, clear eyes blinking owlishly. "Up!" The boy demanded, again, and the girl stood, her face almost eerily blank. The boy prodded her, gently, and she started moving towards the cellar door. She walked in a slow, floating fashion, like a weed swaying underwater, drifting along at a pace that obviously upset the strained, scared boy, and he kept trying to prompt her to move faster.

The boy led her to a large dining room where a serpentine figure lounged upon a massive throne. The pale boy bowed hurriedly, his actions serving to hide his bleak, terrified expression. The girl stood straight, looking around at her surroundings with an admirable calm, only the careful working of her throat betraying her fear.

"How nice of you to join us," hissed the monster on the throne, a smile curling on his lipless mouth. The girl didn't respond, and the Dark Lord's smile grew more sinister. "You were a member of Potter's little club... Tell me- do you have any idea where Harry Potter is, or what he is doing?"

"No, I haven't," the girl's voice was dreamy, her words slightly lisped. The Dark Lord's eyes narrowed, his crimson eyes fixating on the girl's, and her serene expression scrunched to one of pain as he plundered her mind. When he retreated, she sagged to her knees, looking shaken and lost for the first time since entering the room, and she pressed a thin hand against her temple.

The Dark Lord scowled down at her then waved a hand in the direction of the pale boy. "Draco," he said, his voice dangerously soft, "see if you can't... encourage her to remember something."

The boy, Draco, assumed a look of twisted self-loathing as he turned to face the girl, raising his wand. " _Crucio_ ," he basically whispered, and though the intent behind the curse wasn't strong, it was enough to make the girl fall to the ground, ear-splitting screams tearing from her throat.

The time the girl was under the torture curse seemed to stretch forever, and when her screams finally stopped, Draco had to carry her limp, twitching body back down to the cellar, placing her on the hard ground with a surprising gentleness. Draco was halfway to the cellar door when the girl spoke.

"Thank you," she murmured, her voice hoarse from screaming. A surprised, insecure expression flickered across Draco's face, though he schooled his face into a blank mask before he turned slightly so his eyes could meet hers.

"You're welcome... Luna."

-

-

-

**CHAPTER ONE:**

I stroked Griselda's silky feathers as I worried my lip with my teeth. The sooty owl was perched on the edge of my windowsill, looking bored the way only an owl can, as I tried to make up my mind- like I had been for the last hour. In front of me was a piece of parchment, folded in half, with the letters  _X.L_. inked across the front. I'd written the letter two days ago, right after hearing about the disappearance of my best friend, my sister in all but blood- Luna. 

The letter was for Xenophilius, or Xeno as he had invited me to call him- Luna's father. He was... an eccentric man, to say the least, but he loved Luna, and I was desperately hoping that he had some information,  _any information_ , on whether or not she was alive.

I should be excited- tomorrow, at exactly 7:07pm, I'd be seventeen years old and able to use magic for the first time in months. I'd been looking forward to this day ever since I'd first learned that underage witches and wizards couldn't use magic outside of Hogwarts, and especially with my current circumstances- a.k.a. being on the run from a corrupt government; my need to have the Trace lifted was increased tenfold.

Come tomorrow evening, I'd finally be able to defend myself and the ones I loved against the monsters hunting me down- hunting me down all because of the fact I was a witch born to non-magical parents, and as 7.07pm hit, I'd finally be able to use the wand I kept in my sleeve everyday without fear of activating the Trace.

The sudden humming of my magic prompted me to turn and smile at the doorway to my room, where my boyfriend now stood. My frustration at my indecisiveness momentarily vanished as wonder took place. Even after three months with him, our love, our relationship, still felt like something out of a dream.

He appeared by my side quicker then I could blink, and bent over, pressing his lips gently to mine. I reached up, winding my arms around his neck to hold him close, pushing all other thoughts from my mind, but how much I loved him. The sound of flapping told me that Griselda had fled out into the night sky, like she always did when Edward came near; her automatic, instinctual reaction to the predator he was by nature.

"You seem frustrated," Edward noted, as we broke away. I sighed, and gestured to the unsent letter.

"I don't know what to do," I admit, blinking fiercely, determined not to cry. "I  _have_  to know if she's alive, Edward, I  _have_  to know if he knows anything! But what if Xeno's being watched, or if Grizzy's somehow traced back to here?"

"If you're going to send it, at least wait until you can use magic," Edward said, his face as worried as it always was when the topic of the war came up. "Bella... please... be careful. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Funnily enough, I don't want me to get hurt either." I snapped at him, before raking a hand through my hair. "Sorry, sorry, that was uncalled for. I'm just..."

"Worried? Frantic? Stressed?" Edward supplied, with a small smile.

"Like you wouldn't believe!" I sighed. I pushed away from the desk and stood up, balancing expertly on my bulky boot cast strapped onto my broken leg and leaving the letter lying where it was. "Okay, I can't do anything about it tonight, anyway- Grizzy's gone and I don't know when she'll be back, so I'm not going to think about it." I decide. Edward's lips twitch slightly as he tries to hide his smile. I scowl. "What? I am completely capable of doing that!"

"Of course you are, love." He says, amused, "you absolutely will not spend the rest of tonight's waking hours agonizing over what to do."

"You're awful." I grumble, poking my tongue out at him, before flopping down onto my bed. I pull the blankets up over me, then pat the space next to me. "Be a man and spoon with me," I order, with a yawn. Edward laughs as he gracefully lowers himself onto the bed beside me, pulling me against his chest. The thick blanket between us is an annoying necessity thanks to the fact his temperature is similar to that of a snow cone.

Ever since Edward started laying beside me at night, I've actually been able to manage sleep without nightmares. Well, that's my romantic side talking anyway. In all probability it's the painkillers I'm taking for the plethora of injuries bestowed on me by that arsehole vampire James that are knocking me out and allowing me to sleep without dreaming.

"Goodnight, my love." Edward murmurs into my ear, his cool breath tickling the side of my face.

"G'night Edward." I reply, sleepily. It doesn't take long for unconsciousness to claim me.

-

The sound of Charlie's voice dragged me from my drugged slumber. Edward had vanished, and Charlie was standing beside my bed, his expression ecstatic. He was just as excited- maybe even more so then me- that I'd finally be able to use magic. Me not being able to protect myself terrified him almost as much as the fact he was powerless to protect me himself.

"Happy birthday baby!" he grinned, plonking a tray of food down on my lap, being careful of the bulky boot cast.

"It's too early to be this cheerful!" I groaned, even as I eagerly inhaled the smell of the only slightly charred eggs and bacon. "You're getting better," I tell him, approvingly, picking up the knife and fork to start digging in. He laughs, and leaves the room momentarily, giving me the opportunity to cut away the worst of the burnt edges and flick them into my wastepaper basket, before re-emerging with an armful of brightly wrapped presents.

"Dad! You didn't have to!" I scold him, and he grins at me.

"Nope, but I wanted to. It's not every day my baby girl turns of age! Well, in the Wizarding world at least. You've got another few years before you can legally buy alcohol in the muggle world." He informs me, with a grin that tells me he isn't even slightly upset by this fact. I can't help but laugh.

The next half-hour passes quickly in a haze of unwrapping presents, then Charlie leaves me to get ready for school. Getting dressed takes an annoyingly long time, thanks to the bloody boot, and I immediately vow that the first thing I do when 7:07pm hits is heal my leg and ribs. In preparation for this, I've told the nosy student body of Forks High that my foot is only sprained and the boot is a precaution to make sure I don't injure my ankle further while the small tear in the muscle heals. I've already said that I'll be able to take the boot off by tomorrow. 

As I get ready, I try to ignore the unsent letter on my desk that brings up what I'm specifically trying to forget- that this is the first time in six years that I've spent my birthday without Luna.

Tears sting my eyes, and I stop, curling my hands into fists and trying to take deep breaths. She can't be dead- she just  _can't_! I refuse to let myself think that- she's  _Luna_  bloody  _Lovegood_! She's the sweetest, most wonderful, battiest person in the world. One of a kind.

-

-

I kiss Charlie's cheek goodbye before sliding, rather inelegantly, out the passenger side of the cruiser. I can't drive with the bloody boot on my leg, and have been having to rely on him to drop me off.

Thankfully, for both of us, it's Alice who helped me get changed the first few times, before I got the knack for it, as well as helping me with the shower- I don't think either of us could have coped with that. 

As I make my way across the car park, to where I've spotted Edward leaning motionless against his polished silver Volvo, I ignore the strange looks sent my way by the few students not yet used to my weirdness. The current glances could be the result of the bulky blue hand-knitted woollen jumper with a huge bronze 'B' on the front I'm wearing- Ginny's mom made it for me when I turned thirteen, and I've worn it every birthday since, thanks to the wonderful thing called magic. 

The dirigible plum earrings and butterbeer cork necklace I used to wear had originally attracted the same sort of looks, but everyone had pretty much desensitized to them.

I haven't worn them since I learned Luna disappeared, though. Haven't even looked at them. It hurts too much.

Alice was standing by Edward's side, her tawny eyes brilliant with excitement. Ever since the whole James fiasco, we'd grown much closer. There was nothing like a potentially life-threatening situation and unfortunate nakedness (on my behalf- I  _really_  couldn't wait to be rid of the boot) to draw two people together. Plus with Alice's visions of the future, it honestly felt like we'd known each other for years, instead of just a handful of months, only several weeks of which we'd spent talking. 

I wasn't sure if it was possible to love someone so quickly, but I did love Alice. And Alice, who lived part of her life in the future- a future where I was, loved me right back. 

Too impatient to wait for me to hobble over, Alice skipped forwards and gently wrapped her cold arms around me. "Happy birthday Bella!" she practically squealed.

"Shh!" I hissed, glancing around the lot to make sure no one had heard her. Fortunately, only one person had- Angela Weber. She saw the panicked look on my face, though, and just smiled and waved, thankfully not making a big deal out of it. Other then the Cullen's, Angela is the only person in Forks High I actually like and spend any amount of time with. 

Alice looks horribly confused. "What's the matter?" she asks, her dark brows during together, "are you upset about your birthday? Because you're only seventeen, you've got lots of time to start worrying about getting older. Plus I thought you'd be excited because today is the day you can finally use your, you know, your  _you-know-what_!"

"It's called magic, Alice," I laugh, before I pull a face, "I'm not upset about getting older, I just don't want all these fake people knowing about it. I'm so bloody sick of them all- I only  _just_  got Mike to stop trying to talk to me all the bloody time, and that was only because I 'accidentally' stomped on his foot with this damn boot. Knowing its my birthday gives them a legitimate excuse to chat me up."

"You really are the most unsociable person I know," Alice muses, with her eyes sparkling with laughter.

"That's because you haven't met Professor Snape!" I tell her, and she laughs- I must have described Snape to her in one of the millions of possible futures she gets glimpse of so she gets the joke. 

We finally reached Edward, and he held out his hand to mine. I happily took it, and he gave my fingers a gentle squeeze.

"Did you sleep well, love?" he asked, lifting his free hand and tracing one cool finger around the outside of my lips as he spoke. I grimaced slightly.

"I think I'm going to get addicted to those meds. I haven't slept this well in years." I admit.

"Don't worry, I'll stage an intervention if necessary." Edward promises me, before leaning forwards and pressing his lips to mine. We kiss for several long moments, before Alice clears her throat loudly. I turn to her, questioningly, and she grins at me, a cheeky grin.

"Just thought I should say that you're expected to be at the house at seven." She informs me, before spinning on her toes and skipping off before I can figure out what she just said and argue.

"Huh?" I say, confused, turning to Edward.

"She's planned you a birthday party," he says, not looking at all sorry like he should.

"What? No!" I yelp, shaking my head wildly. I mean, I do like birthdays but, as Alice mentioned before, I am one of the most unsociable people I know- and I hate being the center of attention. 

I groan, and let my head fall forwards so I'm leaning against Edward's chest. "How could you do this to me?" I demand. I can feel the vibrations in his chest as he laughs.

"I tried, love, but you know Alice." 

I sigh, because I do know her. "She's unstoppable." I state, miserably.

"A force to be reckoned with." Edward confirms. I sigh again- apparently I was having a birthday party whether I wanted one or not. 

At least in a few hours I could get my revenge, I mused- Alice would make an adorable little frog.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO:**

 

No one bothered to stare at us as we took our usual seats in the back of the classroom- teenagers had short attention spans, and the two months Edward and I had been together after the first month, in which I had mostly ignored him, meant that our relationship was no longer a major source of gossip.

As the day progressed, I desperately tried to think up a way to get out of whatever was going down at the Cullen house tonight, but came up empty- well, almost empty. As soon as 7:07pm hit, I was transfiguring Alice into something incapable of giving me those heartbroken puppy dog eyes of hers. 

Still, I was glad that none of the Cullen's brought up the birthday thing again while we were at school so I managed to avoid giving my 'fans' excuses to get all up in my personal space- Angela did push a small note in my locker that wished me happy birthday and hoped I had a lovely day, but that I appreciated because I genuinely liked Angela. 

That afternoon found Edward and I sprawled across my couch, watching Romeo and Juliet for English. While it wasn't my favourite work of Shakespeare, I didn't mind it. 

"You know, I've never had much patience with Romeo," Edward commented, as the movie started.

"What's wrong with Romeo?" I asked, trying to think of what the poor bloke could have done to upset or offend Edward.  

"Well, first of all, he's in love with this Rosaline- don't you think it makes him a little fickle? And then, a few minutes after their wedding, he kills Juliet's cousin. That's not very brilliant. Mistake after mistake. Could he have destroyed his own happiness any more thoroughly?" I shot him a dirty look.

"He's young," I shrug, "and in love. That makes people stupid. You don't have to watch the movie, though if you don't like it- I'm sure you've seen it before. Feel free to get some other work done." 

"It's fine, I'll mostly be watching you, anyway." He says, his fingers tracing patterns across the skin of my arm, raising goose bumps.

"That's kind of stalker-ish," I comment, but I smile anyway and turn my attention turned back to the movie. That is, until Edward starts whispering Romeo's lines in my ear, which was horribly distracting because his voice was so much nicer then the actor's. 

Of course, he lost all his charm when I started crying as Juliet woke and found her new husband dead. "I'm never watching a movie with you again," I threaten, sniffing and wiping away my tears with the back of my sleeve. Edward chuckles softly, before gesturing to the screen.

"I'll admit, I do sort of envy him here," he comments.

"She is gorgeous," I agree, because I might be able to go lesbian for Claire Danes. Edward makes an amused sound.

"I don't envy him the girl, just the ease of the suicide," he clarifies, in a teasing tone, "you humans have it so easy! All you have to do is down one tiny vial of plant extracts-"

"Hold up right there," I interrupt him, twisting around so that I'm facing him and can direct my scowl at him, "this is my birthday. No talking about sad things! And where did this bloody come from, anyway?" I ask, genuinely bewildered. 

"It's something I had to think about once, and I knew from Carlisle's experience when he was first Turned that it wouldn't be simple." Edward explains while I listen in growing horror. "Carlisle tried to kill himself in the beginning... after he realized what he'd become..." His voice which had grown serious turned light again. "And he's clearly still in excellent health."

"What the hell do you mean it was something you had to think about once?" I just about  _squeak_ , I'm so horrified.

"When you were... nearly killed..." Edward pauses to take a deep breath, struggling to return to his teasing tone. "Of course, I was trying to focus on finding you alive, but part of my mind was already making contingency plans."

For one second, the memory, not even two weeks old, of my last trip to Phoenix washed through my head and made me feel dizzy. I could see it all so clearly- the blinding sun, the heat waves coming off the concrete, as I made my way towards the sadistic vampire who wanted to torture me to death. I obviously hasn't died, but it had been close- both from my injuries and my unintentional use of magic. 

Almost unthinkingly, my fingers traced the crescent-shaped scar on my forearm that was always just a few degrees cooler than the rest of my skin. I shook my head- wincing slightly at the movement- trying to shake away the bad memories, and instead tried to grasp what Edward had meant. My stomach plunged uncomfortably. " _Contingency_   _plans_?" I repeated.

"Well, I wasn't going to live without you." He rolled his eyes as if that fact were childishly obvious- if I didn't know how much it would hurt, I would have hit him right in his pretty face. "But I wasn't sure how to do it- I knew Emmett and Jasper would never help... so I was thinking maybe I could go to Italy and do something to provoke the Volturi."

My blood turned to ice as I stared up at him with horrified eyes. I didn't want to believe he was serious, but his golden eyes were brooding, focused on something far away in the distance as he contemplated ways to end his own life.

The Volturi. A shudder ran through me. The very old, very powerful, ancient vampire family- the closest thing the vampire world had to a royal family. A coven ruled by three vampires, the oldest known ones of their kind, the ruling three and their mates being some of the only vampires who knew the secret of the Wizarding World.

"You don't irritate the Volturi," Edward went on, interrupting my reverie, "not unless you want to die- or whatever it is we do."

"I bloody well know that!" I snapped, "those Italian ponces are bloodthirsty wankers!" He rolled his eyes.

"I shouldn't be surprised you know about the Volturi," he commented, visibly amused, "you know more about my world then I do." I shook my head from side to side, ignoring his comment, my mind stuck on what he'd just revealed to me.

"Edward!" My voice was choked, pained, and I thought I might throw up. My life span wasn't exactly a promising one- not with what I was, and what was going on in the world right now. The probability of me dying an early death was, well, very high.

I seized Edward's head between my hands and held it very tightly. Inside me, my magic was stirring, responding to my heightened emotions. "Edward Anthony Masen Cullen, don't you ever fucking  _dare_  talk like that in front of me, don't even fucking  _think_  like that, again!" I said in a voice so furious it was shaking.

"Bella-"

"No, don't you dare 'Bella' me!" I interrupted, furiously, "what would you do if the situation was reversed? Would you want me to go off myself? Go jump off one of the cliffs over the ocean, or go turn myself in to the Death Eaters?" He blanched, pain crossing his perfect features.

"I guess I see your point... a little," he admitted, "but what-"

"No. Buts." I told him, my voice hard. Edward opened his mouth to reply, or probably argue, then abruptly shut it, pulling himself up into a more formal posture and shifting me to the side so that we were no longer touching.

Ah. Charlie must be home.

Charlie walked through the door, cheerfully, a large brown paper bag in his hands. He grinned at me. "I thought you'd like a break from cooking and washing dishes for you birthday. Hungry?"

"What is it?" I asked, curiously. Charlie opens the bag, and flourishes its contents. My mouth dropped open.

"Dad! You didn't?!"

Edward and Charlie laughed as I grabbed the delicious cheeseburger from his hands- I ignored them. I'd always had a guilty love for cheeseburgers, but there was nowhere in Forks that sold them, and they were never served at Hogwarts. "Where did you find them?" I demanded. 

"Took a drive," Charlie shrugs, as if it's no big deal he drove two hours to Port Angeles just to buy me a cheeseburger on my birthday. I threw my arms around him and could practically  _hear_  him blushing at the outward display of emotion.

"Thanks Dad."

-

Charlie didn't comment on Edward's apparent lack of appetite, well used to Edward passing on dinner. "Do you mind if I borrow Bella for the evening?" Edward asked when Charlie and I were done eating our takeaway fast food. "Alice wants to throw her a party."

I looked at Charlie hopefully- maybe he had some concept of birthdays as stay-at-home, family affairs. Seeing as this was my first birthday spent with him since I was two years old, I didn't really know what to expect. Before Hogwarts Renée would have demanded I stay home with her. 

"That's fine- the Mariners are playing the Sox tonight," Charlie said cheerily, and my hope disappeared. "So I won't be any kind of company." I scowled and Charlie laughed at my expression. "Still my party girl?" he asked fondly. I poked my tongue out at him and he laughed again. "Say hi to Alice for me. She hasn't been over in a while." His mouth pulled down in the corners.

"She was over yesterday." I remind him. Charlie was crazy about Alice- like I said, it was thanks to her that he didn't have to help me shower with my busted leg.

"You kids have fun," Charlie continued, completely ignoring my response, before he walked over to the living room and I resigned myself to the party.

Edward accepts his victory with good grace, and I go brush my teeth and change out of the jeans I'd worn today into one of the two dresses I own, then pull back on my birthday Weasley jumper out of pure spite to Alice, before going back downstairs. 

Edward, after telling me I looked beautiful (I tried not to blush too hard), took my hand to pull me over to the door. 

The drive to his house didn't take long, and I spent the whole time shifting nervously in my seat. "Can you do me a favor?" He asked, suddenly.

"That depends on what it is." I responded, cautiously.

"Bella," he said, his lovely face turning serious, "the last real birthday any of us had was Emmett in 1935. Please cut them a little slack- they're all very excited." I groaned, as he pulled around the corner of the obscene turnoff to his house.

"Oh now you've gone and made me feel all guilty and obligated!" I complained and he flashed me a brilliant smile. 

"So you'll go along with it?" 

I sighed. "I'll be good." I promised glumly. 

"Excellent," he said, pleased. "Because we're here."

 


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE:**

 

I bit back a whimper as we stepped out of the car. Bright light shone from every window on the first two floors, a long line of glowing Japanese lanterns hung from the porch and big bowls of flowers- pink roses, to be exact- lined the wide stairs up to the front doors. 

This was Alice's fault, I just  _knew_  it. 

"Good sport," Edward reminds me.

"We'll see." I say, darkly. He smiles, and takes my hand, leading me to the door. I anxiously tugged on the hem of my jumper as he opened the door for me. 

The Cullens were all waiting in the huge white living room, and when I walked through the door they greeted me with a loud chorus of "Happy Birthday!" I went bright red. 

Alice (because it had  _definitely_  been her) had covered just about every single available flat surface with pink candles and dozens of crystal bowls filled with hundreds of roses. There was a table with a white cloth draped over it next to the grand piano, holding a three tiered pink birthday cake, more roses, a stack of glass plates, and a small pile of silver-wrapped presents.

It was a hundred times worse then I'd imagined.

Screw frogs, I was turning her into a bloody cockroach.

Edward, sensing my horror and distress, wrapped an encouraging arm around my waist and kissed the top of my head. Edward's parents, Carlisle and Esme, were the closest to the door, and the first to approach me. Esme hugged me carefully, her soft, caramel-colored hair brushing against my cheek as she kissed my forehead, and then Carlisle put his arm around my shoulders.

"Sorry about this, Bella," he stage-whispered. "We couldn't rein Alice in." Rosalie and Emmett stood behind them. Rosalie didn't smile, but at least she didn't glare. Emmett's face was stretched in a huge grin.

"Can you do magic yet?" he demanded, excitedly. 

I check my watch, just as eager myself, and sigh, shaking my head- it's only just seven o'clock. 

"About ten more minutes." I tell him, wanting to be safe. He pouts.

"I have to step out for a moment- don't do any magic until I'm back!" he begs. I smile and nod, and he ducks out.

Alice let go of Jasper's hand and skipped forward, all her teeth sparkling in the bright light. Jasper smiled, too, but kept his distance. During the days we'd had to spend cooped up together in Phoenix, I'd thought he'd gotten over his aversion to me, but he'd gone back to exactly how he'd acted before- avoiding me as much as possible.

I knew it wasn't personal, and I tried not to be overly sensitive about it. Alice, in a quiet moment, had told me that Jasper had more trouble sticking to the Cullens' diet then the rest of them, as not only was he the newest to convert, but he also had to deal with secondhand impressions of the Thirst of any other close-by vampire due to the nature of his Gift. 

In the hotel room in Phoenix he'd been able to cope being in such close quarters to me because he only had to deal with impressions of Alice's Thirst as well as his own, and as his mate Alice was better practiced at keeping her Thirst from affecting him. The others weren't as good, even though they tried, and it was especially dangerous when they were all taken unaware. More then one human had lost their lives because of this, Alice had admitted, ashamed because it was practically as much the fault as theirs as Jasper's, and she also blamed herself for not foreseeing the situations with her own Gift. 

"Time to open presents," Alice declared, pulling me from my morbid-turning thoughts. She put her cool hand under my elbow and towed me to the table with the cake and shiny packages. 

I put on my best martyr face but didn't say anything, instead accepting the big, square silver box she thrust into my hands.

The box was so light that it felt empty. The tag on top said that it was from Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper- I had the feeling that Emmett was the one who bought it.

Feeling a tad self-conscious, I tore the paper off and then stared at the box it concealed- it was something electrical, with lots of numbers in the name. I opened the box, hoping for further illumination, but the box was very empty.

"Er... I love it?" I said, confused. Rosalie actually cracked a smile and Jasper laughed.

"It's a stereo for your truck," he explained. "Emmett's off installing it right now so that you can't return it." I smile sheepishly at them.

"Thanks guys."

"Open mine next!" Alice said, so excited that her voice was a high-pitched trill. She held a large, flat box in her hand. I took it from her and rolled my eyes.

"Let me guess... clothes?" She pouts, and gestures to the knitted jumper.

"Can you blame me?" I look down at my blue and bronze woolen Weasley jumper and smile sadly.

"Ginny's mom made this for me when I turned thirteen. I've worn it every birthday since." I explain.

"Oh," Alice says, her expression falling slightly. "I- I didn't mean it was ugly or anything, just that it's-"

"Alice," I interrupt her, smiling warmly at her concern for my feelings, "stop worrying so much." She beams, her face relieved, and I open the present. The box inside is white and flat, and I open it up to reveal a soft black leather jacket. I gently stroke the material, debating whether or not to demand how much it cost, and end up just smiling at Alice. "I love it," I tell her, honestly meaning it. She grins smugly.

"I know." Edward hands me the next gift, a small, flat square.

"This is from me," he says. I took the little package, rolling my eyes at Edward, while I stuck my finger under the edge of the paper and jerked it under the tape.

"Ouch," I muttered when the paper sliced my finger; pulled it out to examine the damage. A dribble of blood oozed from the tiny cut, several drops going flying through the air when I shook my hand. It all happened very quickly from there.

I was flung back across the table before I even registered Edward's shout. He'd apparently thrown himself at me, knocking me out of the way as Jasper slammed into him- right where I had been less then a second before- the resulting sound akin to that of the crash of boulders in a rock slide. 

The table fell as I did, scattering the cake and the presents, the flowers and the plates. I landed in a mess of shattered crystal, and gasp for air. The look of horror on Alice's face paired with the sound of Edward and Jasper's snarls has me acting without thinking. I pull my wand from my sleeve, ignoring the searing stinging pain that ran from my wrist to the crease inside my elbow, and shouted, " _Protego_!" 

A massive shield of shimmering light burst between Edward and Jasper, forcing the blonde, leonine vampire with the wild, empty eyes back across the room.

He let out a grisly snarling noise, and leapt forwards, his body crashing into the shield. My wand hand shook, the stress of keeping the shield up and strong in my dazed and disorientated state, taking its tax. In front of me, his face whiter then bone, Edward was crouched in a clearly defensive position. On the other side of my shield, Jasper was snarling, baring his teeth, clearly past reason. 

I thought about a bubble head charm or a cheering charm, but I remembered what Alice had told me, about how Jasper was affected by all nearby vampires, and decided the best thing I could do was try to make sure Jasper didn't hurt anybody, and nobody had to hurt him. 

And then Emmett was back, and he was grabbing Jasper from behind, locking him in his massive steel grip, pulling him out of the room, Rosalie by his side. Alice mouthes 'thank you' to me, before following after them to comfort her mate. 

Esme opened the glass door for them all, one hand pressed over her mouth and nose, her face ashamed. "I'm so sorry Bella," she cried, as she hurried after the others, out into the yard. 

Now that only Edward and Carlisle were in the room, I let the shield drop and my body slump against the wall. "Bloody hell." I summed up the situation, glumly.  

Carlisle approached us, cautiously, until he was a few feet away. "Let me by, Edward." He said, his voice calm. A second passed and then Edward nodded slowly and relaxed his defensive stance.

Carlisle knelt beside me, leaning close to examine my arm. "Too much glass in the wound." He murmured to himself, and reached over and ripped a long, thin scrap from the bottom of the white tablecloth, then proceeded to twist it around my arm above the elbow to form a tourniquet. 

A sudden thought struck me, one I should have had much quicker, and I blamed my slowness on the fact my head was still spinning. "Bella, calm d-" Carlisle started to say, correctly reading the fresh panic on my face, but I interrupted him.

"What's the time?" I demanded, my heart thudding unevenly in my chest, "I need to know the time!" It would be  _just_  my luck for me to use magic mere minutes or seconds before I hit seventeen and the Trace was lifted and get us all killed.

"It's twelve past seven," He said, his face creased with worry, and I let out a groan of relief, mentally calculating how much time had past since I cast the shield charm.

"Merlin's ba-" glancing at Carlisle I quickly change what I was about to say, "-beard, that could have been a disaster!" I let out a strained laugh that was only a tad on the hysterical side. 

"Bella," Carlisle said softly. "Do you want me to drive you to the hospital, or would you like me to take care of it here?" 

I looked down at my arm and grimaced at the mess. "Gross." I muttered, before I shook my head in response to Carlisle's question. 

"No, no, I can do it myself," I told him, squeezing my wand tighter and smiling as I felt the wood heat slightly beneath my touch. Carlisle immediately looked intrigued, but it was at that point that I finally realised Edward had yet to say a word. I looked up to see him still standing over me, still protective and still not breathing. "You can go," I told him, gently. Out of all my vampires, it was only Carlisle who had the experience of being around so much blood. I didn't blame the others for not being able to cope with the sight. 

"I can handle it," Edward insisted, his jaw rigid. 

"Edward," I murmured, concerned, but seeing the look of stubborn determination in his dark eyes I decided against arguing further, and instead pointed my wand at the jagged cut. " _Tergeo_ ," I muttered, vanishing the blood with a quick flick so I could see the cut clearly. Carlisle had been right about there being a lot of glass in the gash, but a s _courgify_  dealt with that easily enough, and I paused to consider which of the healing spells I knew would be best suited for the situation. " _Vu_ _lnera sanentur_." I murmured, after a brief deliberation, and I watched in satisfaction as my skin knitted together, a very odd sensation that caused severe itching, before fading to a pale scar.

It was Luna who had decided that we should learn the basics of medi-wizardry- that is, healing magic. Although she never explicitly stated it, I was very aware that her desire to know how to spell a broken body back together was the result of watching her mother, Selene, die from her injuries in front of her nine-year-old daughter after a spell she was crafting backfired, and I had gone along with it. 

"Amazing," Carlisle said, shaking his head back and forth, his eyes bright with wonder. "Simply amazing." I smiled weakly, the magic use combined with the blood loss and the fresh pain from my broken ribs having tired me out.

"Yeah... it really is." I mumbled, before turning to Edward again. "Can you help me up?" I asked, and wordlessly he lifted me to my feet in one smooth movement, then supported me as my legs trembled, just barely able to keep me vertical. I cringed, gasping and pressing a hand to my ribs as the movement caused fresh pain.

"What hurts?" Edward demanded, instantly.

"Ribs." I bit back a cry as a particularly sharp bolt of pain cut through my chest.

"You may have re-splintered the fractures," Carlisle said, his expression now worried. "We need to get that checked out as soon as-"

"No need," I interrupted him, pointing my wand at my chest. " _Episkey_!" I said, before I could chicken out. There was a crunching sound and I swore- loudly- and doubled over as the pain doubled making my vision white out, before vanishing altogether.

Panting for breath, my head really starting to ache now, I straightened up and looked around the room, now a mess of broken glass and splintered wood. I blearily debated for a moment whether or not to fix it, but as I sagged in Edward's arms, I admitted to myself that I didn't really have the strength to right now. This was the sort of situation where a blood-replenishing potion would really come in handy. A pepper-up too, come to think of it. 

"I should take you home." Edward's voice sad unemotional and that surprised me- I was expecting anger or self-loathing- but I make a concerted effort not to react.

"I'll need to change first," I said instead, looking down at myself. My right shoulder was covered in pink frosting and my Weasley jumper was torn; soaked and spotted with my blood.

"I'll get you something," Edward said, voice still blank. He guided me to the couch, sitting me down before striding from the room. I looked over at Carlisle, my heart sinking.

"He's very upset." I stated unhappily. 

"Yes," Carlisle agreed, looking very worried. "Tonight is exactly the kind of thing he fears most. You being put in danger because of what we are."

"I wasn't worried about Jasper," I said, frustrated at Edward's inability to look past his own emotions sometimes. "I trust you lot to have my back if accidents happen, and tonight you did. The only thing that had me worried was the bloody Snatchers, and that's not his fault at all!" 

"It's not yours, either." Carlisle stated, calmly. I looked away from his wise eyes- I couldn't agree with that, not completely; I'd risked all our lives tonight in my thoughtlessness, and that wasn't something I could forget in a hurry. 

When Edward came in back, he was accompanied by Alice. She hurried to my side even as he hung back, his face indecipherable. "C'mon," she murmured, "I'll get you something less macabre to wear." I nodded and followed her tiredly up the stairs to get room, letting her pick out an outfit that matched my new leather jacket.

"How bad is it, Alice?" I asked her, just before we returned downstairs. Her face tensed.

"I'm not sure yet." She whispered, and that honestly terrified me. 

"How's Jasper?" I asked, genuinely concerned. Alice's mouth turned down.

"He's very unhappy with himself." She said, softly. 

"It's not his fault. You'll tell him that I'm not mad at him, not at all, won't you?" I asked her. 

"Of course." She assured me, and I could see the gratitude in her inky-black eyes. I smiled weakly at her and took a deep breath, preparing myself to go face Edward.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR:**   
  


Edward was waiting for me by the front door. As I got to the bottom of the staircase, he held it open without a word. "Take your things!" Alice cried as I walked warily toward Edward. She scooped up the two packages, one half-opened, and pressed them into my arms. "You can thank me later, when you've opened them." She said. 

Esme and Carlisle both said a quiet goodnight. I could see them stealing quick glances at their impassive son, much like I was. It was a relief to be outside; I hobbled past the lanterns and the roses, Edward keeping pace with me silently 

The first half of the drive passed in tense silence which that was slowly driving me insane. "Say something!" I finally begged as he turned onto the freeway.

"What do you want me to say?" he asked in a detached voice. I cringed at his remoteness.

"I don't know- anything!" I all but shouted, "bloody hell, Edward, this isn't your fault!" My words opened a floodgate.

"If you'd cut yourself at Mike Newton's house, with Angela there and other normal friends, the worst that could possibly have happened would be what? Maybe they couldn't find you a band-aid? If you'd tripped and knocked over a pile of glass plates on your own- without someone throwing you into them- even then, what's the worst that could happen? You'd get blood on the seats when they drove you to the emergency room? Mike Newton could have held your hand while they stitched you up- and he wouldn't be fighting the urge to kill you the whole time he was there!" Edward didn't quite shout, but it was a close thing. I looked at him incredulously. 

"How the  _fuck_  did Newton end up in this conversation?" I demanded, not ashamed that my voice went slightly shrill.

"Newton ended up in this conversation because Newton would be a hell of a lot healthier for you to be with," he growled.

"Are you kidding? I despise that tosser! I'd rather die than be with him! I'd rather die then be with anyone but you!"

"Don't be melodramatic, please." He said, and the hypocrisy had smoke practically pouring from my ears. 

"Me? Melodramatic? This coming from the bloke who a few hours ago proclaimed he'd rather die then live without me?" I shrieked. Edward glared through the windshield, his expression black. I glared back for a moment, then realised I actually didn't want to fight and instead racked my brain for some way to salvage the evening. Unfortunately, even by the time we'd pulled up in front of my house, I still hadn't come up with anything.

Edward killed the engine, but his hands stayed clenched around the steering wheel. I sighed. "Will you stay tonight?" I asked him, quietly.

"I should go home."

"Will you stay?" I repeated. He looked up, looked over at me, and my heart wanted to break a little bit at the self-loathing I could see there. "Please," I whispered, my voice cracking slightly. "I don't want to be alone." 

A low blow maybe, but it wasn't a lie. Edward sighed.

"Fine." He murmured, but instead of any sort of victory I should be feeling, I just felt... tired. And sad. I slid out of the car and reached awkwardly for my presents.

"Let me carry them," Edward murmured, out of the truck and by my side in a second. "I'll be in your room."

I smiled softly. "Thanks." 

"Happy birthday," he sighed, and leaned down to touch his lips to mine. I reached up on my toes, continuing the kiss for as long as possible, before he pulled away. He smiled my favorite crooked smile, and then he disappeared into the darkness.

The game was still on; as soon as I walked through the front door I could hear the announcer rambling over the babble of the crowd. After calling out a quick goodnight to Charlie, I made my way up to the bathroom where I changed into my pajamas, brushed my teeth, took my painkillers then hobbled back to my room. I didn't feel up to healing my leg tonight, and decided to save it till the morning- today had been a long day in so many ways, yet I felt no sense of relief at its end. Almost as if something worse was coming tomorrow

Edward was sitting in the entre of my bed, toying idly with one of the silver boxes. "Hi." He said. His voice was sad. He was wallowing. I went to the bed, pushed the presents out of his hands and climbed into his lap.

"Hi." I curled into his stone chest.

"Do you want to open your presents now?" he asked, but I shook my head, already feeling the doziness brought on by the drugs.

"'m tired." I yawned. Edward scooped me up off the bed with one arm, and pulled the cover back with the other. He laid me down with my head on my pillow and tucked the quilt around me. He lay down next to me- on top of the blanket so I wouldn't get chilled- and put his arm over me. I leaned my head back against his shoulder and shut my eyes, trying to stop my brain from summoning thoughts I wanted to just stay away. It didn't really work, and I tried not to visibly show the grief I was feeling.  

"What are you thinking about?" Edward murmured.

"I- I miss her," I whispered back to him. My voice cracked, and I had to swallow past the lump in my throat. "Edward, I  _really_  miss her." 

The tears, unsurprisingly, start to come. Edward held me tight as I tried to stifle the sound of my grief the best I could. I reached up and, my face wet with my tears, pulled his face to mine. The kiss began the same as usual- Edward was as careful as ever, and then something seemed to change. Suddenly his lips became much more urgent, his free hand twisted into my hair and held my face securely to his.

We were beginning to cross his cautious lines, but for once he didn't stop me, just held me closer, tighter. His body was cold through the thin quilt, but I hugged myself to him anyway.

When he stopped, it was abrupt; he gently pushed me away, and I collapsed back onto my pillow, gasping, my head spinning. Something tugged at my memory, elusive, on the edges. "Sorry," he whispered, and he was breathless, too. "That wasn't the time." 

But my tears had stopped, and I laid my head against his chest. "I don't mind." I said, quietly. The pills were starting to make my thoughts blur, and I felt Edward's hand in my hair. "Don't let go." I think I mumbled to him, my words slurring together. I didn't hear his reply, but it was only then, right on the edge of consciousness, that I realized what his kiss had reminded me of: mere weeks ago, when he'd had to leave me to throw James off my trail, Edward had kissed me goodbye, not knowing when- or if- we would see each other again.

This kiss had the same almost painful edge for some reason I couldn't imagine. I shuddered into unconsciousness, as if I were already having a nightmare.

-

-

I felt absolutely hideous in the morning. I hadn't slept well and my body ached all over. It didn't help my outlook that Edward's face was smooth and remote as he kissed my forehead quickly and ducked out my window. I was suddenly afraid of the time I'd spent unconscious, afraid what he might have been thinking about while he watched me sleep.

Dressing slowly, I pulled on my Ravenclaw Quidditch jersey and a pair of jeans, brushed my hair out, and then picked up my wand and pointed it at my broken leg. I took three deep breaths then said, in as strong a voice as I could manage, already knowing how bad this was going to be; " _Episkey_!"

There was a horrible clunking noise, much worse then the sound of my broken ribs forcibly snapping back together, and the pain was so terrible I nearly passed out. 

I was relieved Edward was gone as the strangled scream torn from my throat sounded like someone had just thrown acid in my face, or set me on fire. 

As it was, Charlie charged into my room, his gun out. "Bella?" he shouted frantically, scanning the room, "are you alright?" He demanded. 

"I'm fine, Dad," I panted, gesturing weakly at the bulky boot as I leaned heavily against my bed. "Just healed my leg." He let out a sigh of relief, lowering his service pistol to his side.

"Thank god," he mumbled, taking a moment to calm down before looking up suddenly. "Can you show me some magic now?" he asked, eagerly.

"Sure," I smiled, before pointing my wand at my leg and concentrating. " _Evanesco_!" Charlie let out a sound of amazement as a stream of orange sparks swirled around my leg, the boot fading from existence. I then pointed my wand at the bed, muttering a quick household charm that caused it to make itself. Charlie shook his head in amazement. 

"That's amazing, Bella!" He praised me and I tried not to blush. 

"They weren't anything special," I mumbled, embarrassed, and he smiled. 

"Still amazing." He said firmly, smiling as I blushed even harder. "We're leaving in about ten minutes," He then said, before leaving my room. I slid my wand up my sleeve and crossed over to my bed, revelling at being able to move around so easily now, and pulling my DA galleon out from under my pillow. A soft hooting made me spin around, and I smiled, seeing Griselda perched on the windowsill.

"Hey beautiful girl," I greeted her, softly, walking over to my desk and picking up the letter to Xeno. I take a few deep breaths, and tell myself sternly that nobody will be able to trace me back to my location using either the letter or by following Griselda. Griselda obediently held up her leg for me to fasten the letter on, then clicked her beak affectionately at me before spreading her wings and soaring out, up into the sky. 

I follow her with my eyes until she vanishes over the forest of the Olympic range, unable to help the uncomfortable crawling feeling in my stomach, like something is wrong. 

Steeling myself against the feeling, I repeat that she will be fine, then go downstairs, tucking my wand down my sleeve as I do so.

-

-

Edward was waiting for me at school, as usual, but his face was still wrong. There was something buried in his eyes that I couldn't be sure of- and it scared me. I didn't want to bring up last night, but I wasn't sure if avoiding the subject would be worse.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"Perfect." I lied. Then, because I can hear the lie in my own voice, I add, "I'm worried about Grizzy. I sent her off with the letter, but... I don't know, Edward. Something just feels wrong." 

"Nobody can trace her back to you?" Edward asks, concerned. I shake my head. 

"They shouldn't. Post owls are  _smart_ , Edward- they're trained to be smart, smarter then normal owls. I just..." I shook my head and sighed. "I'm just worried." 

Edward doesn't say anything and we walk in silence, him shortening his stride to match mine, either not noticing, or just not commenting, on the lack of boot on my leg. 

There were so many questions I wanted to ask, but most of those questions would have to wait, because they were for Alice: how was Jasper this morning? What had they said when I was gone? And more importantly, what could she see happening now in her strange, imperfect visions of the future? Could she guess what Edward was thinking? Was there a foundation for the tenuous, instinctive fears that I couldn't seem to shake?

The morning passed slowly. I was impatient to see Alice, though I wouldn't be able to really talk to her with Edward there. Edward remained aloof, not even asking to see any magic, something he'd expressed more then just a bit of interest in since finding out what I was.

Alice usually beat us to lunch, but she wasn't at the table today, waiting with a tray of food she wouldn't eat. None of the Cullen's were and Edward didn't say anything about her absence. I wondered to myself if her class was running late- until I saw Ben, the boyfriend of Angela, my only human friend- well, sort of friend- in Forks, who was in Alice's fourth period French class.

"Where's Alice?" I asked Edward, anxiously. He looked at the granola bar he was slowly pulverizing between his fingertips while he answered.

"She's with Jasper."

"Is he okay?"

"He's gone away for a while."

"What? Where?" I demanded. Edward shrugged.

"Nowhere in particular."

"And Alice, too," I said, with quiet desperation. Of course, if Jasper needed her, she would go.

"Yes. She'll be gone for a while. She was trying to convince him to go to Denali." I swallowed, trying to dislodge the sudden lump in my throat. The feeling of foreboding was growing stronger, and there was also the hurt that she'd gone without even saying goodbye. 

By the end of the day, nothing had changed. Edward still answered every question I asked with short, clipped sentences. "You're staying over, right?" I asked as he parked outside my house.

"If you want me to."

"I always want you," I reminded him, with perhaps a little more intensity then the conversation required. I expected he would laugh, or smile, or react  _somehow_  to my words.

"All right, then," he said indifferently. I didn't know whether I wanted to throttle or kiss him more. 

Blinking back the threatening tears so Edward wouldn't see them, I stepped out of the car and reached back in for my school bag. Edward beat me to it, suddenly appearing beside me, reaching out to still my arms.

"Come for a walk with me," he suggested in that horrible unemotional voice.

I nodded soundlessly, taking his hand, letting him lead me toward the east side of the yard, where the forest encroached. My stomach was twisting in knots, and I started chewing on my lip. I didn't like this. It felt wrong.

It felt very, very wrong.

 


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE:**

 

We'd gone only a few steps into the trees when he stopped. We were barely on the trail- I could still see the house. Some walk. 

Edward leaned against a tree and stared at me, his expression unreadable. "Okay," I said, my voice sounding a lot braver then it felt, "let's talk." He took a deep breath.

"Bella, we're leaving."

It felt like the air had been knocked out of me. Because I knew, instantly, that the 'we _'_  he was talking about didn't include  _me_.

I stared at him, wordlessly, in complete and utter shock and horror. Edward waited, motionlessly, soundlessly, and without any sign of impatience.

"No-" I whispered, finally. " _No_!" I repeated, my voice growing in volume. "You promised! In Phoenix, you promised you would stay-"

"As long as that was best for you," he interrupted to correct me. "And obviously, this is not." I shook my head wildly from side to side. The branches on the trees around us began to shake- my emotions were going haywire inside me, and my magic was responding to that, churning and lashing out.

"What happened with Jasper- that was nothing, Edward! Nothing!"

"You're right," he agreed. "It was exactly what was to be expected."

"No!" Tears began to spill down my cheeks. "Edward, please-" I wanted to sound angry, but it just sounded like I was begging. He took a deep breath and stared, unseeingly, at the ground for a long moment. His mouth twisted the tiniest bit. When he finally looked up, his eyes were different, harder- like the liquid gold had frozen solid.

"Bella, I don't want you to come with me." He spoke the words slowly and precisely, his cold eyes on my face, watching as I absorbed what he was really saying. "Of course, I'll always love you... in a way. But what happened the other night made me realize that it's time for a change. Because I'm... tired of pretending to be something I'm not, Bella. I've let this go on much too long, and I'm sorry for that, but-"

"Just stop with the bullshit, okay?" I shouted, interrupting him. He opened his mouth to continue speaking, but I slashed my hand angrily through the air, cutting him off. I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down. "I deserve  _better_  then this, Edward! I want the truth. Just... just tell me the fucking  _truth_."

His face crumbles abruptly, the coldness melting away, leaving only despair. "I'm not good for you Bella," he whispers, voice choked, "you'll be so much better off without me and my family. You were tortured by a vampire just over two weeks ago! Last night you were almost killed-"

"No, I wasn't," I interrupted, "I had my magic, it was all under control!" Edward gestures at me, his movements somewhat wild.

"And that's another point- you could have been caught last night by Snatchers! If Jasper had attacked you any earlier, using magic would have activated the Trace, and you'd be captured! I've already almost got you caught by Snatchers once- I don't want you to become another name on Potterwatch, Bella... and I couldn't live with myself if I was the one responsible for putting it there."

Tears begin to slide down my cheeks, and my knees must have started to shake because the trees were suddenly wobbling, but it wasn't my magic, this time. No, my magic was no longer out of control, rather it was weighing down on me, a heavy shroud of despair.

"Promise me," his golden eyes are blazing with a desperate intensity, "promise me you won't be reckless, Bella- that you'll be safe!" I ignore his words, his pleas.

"I love you," I tell him, my voice choked, "I love you. Do you love me?" I turn my pleading gaze up to meet his. "Do you love me Edward? Please... please tell me the truth- you owe me that much!" 

His eyes are shining and he reaches out, his cold, white fingers brushing against my jaw. "I love you, Bella." He whispers, "I love you so much. I'm doing this because I love you." And then he's gone.

I can't help it- my legs crumple underneath me, sending me to the ground. Gasping breaths catch in my throat, and as I curl up on the damp soil, I let the tears fall freely.

He was gone. They were all gone. Everyone was gone. Luna was gone. Alice was gone. Esme and Carlisle were gone. Emmett was gone. Jasper and Rosalie were gone... and  _He_  was gone. Edward was gone. My Edward. 

Gasping, keening sounds tore from my throat, and my hands scrabbled at my chest, my nails digging into the soft skin over my heart with enough force, enough viciousness, that I knew there'd be scratches and bruises.

I don't know how long I stayed curled there. At some point the sky went black, and rain started to fall. I didn't feel the cold, though. Didn't feel anything except the hollow, aching pain in my chest. 

Charlie found me. He sat down beside me, on the wet bracken, and stroked my hair. At some point he picked me up and carried me back to the house, wrapping me in thick, warm blankets, and sitting me down on the sofa.

I didn't really register anything until he pushed a glass into my hand- a glass filled with something that was decidedly  _not_  water. "I'm only seventeen." I croak, my voice hoarse and raspy from crying, "I'm not old enough to drink yet."

"You're not old enough for a good many of the events of these past few years, but you've survived them, and I know you'll survive this." Charlie said; quiet and gentle. A slightly dubious expression on my face, I took a hasty sip of the golden liquid like it was medicine, then began shuddering all over as my eyes started to water.

"Oh my god," I spluttered, my throat burning, "you actually drink that stuff for  _fun_?"

"It's an acquired taste," Charlie answers, wryly. I took another sip, a slower one, then carefully set the glass down, and took stock of how I felt. I had to admit that once the taste was gone from my mouth and no longer burning my throat and eroding my oesophagus, the warmth spreading through my stomach was quite pleasant and I could actually feel my body relaxing. Until I felt my muscles begin to loosen, I hadn't realized how tightly I'd been clenching my teeth, or how stretched taut every muscle and nerve in my body had been.

"Tell me what happened, Bells," Charlie says, gently.

"I was stupid," I whisper, closing my eyes so I didn't have to look at Charlie as I spoke. "I knew I shouldn't fall in love with him, but I did anyway. And now... now he's gone."

"Edward's gone?" Charlie asked, and I flinched as the sound of his name unleashed the thing that was crawling inside me- a pain that astonished me with its force, only rivaled to that I felt when I learned that Luna was taken. That's when the floodgates opened- again

"He's gone, his family's gone and Luna's gone!" I wailed, hugging my knees to my chest. "Luna could be dead and I'm never going to see the man I love again!" Agony ripped through me, and I could barely breathe.

"Oh Bella..." Charlie breathed, wrapping his arms tight around me.

Later that night, when I was curled up in my bed, half drunk, a new thought struck me. Maybe... maybe it was better this way. Edw- _He_  wasn't safe in my world. It was too dangerous for him, with or without the War currently raging- witches and wizards did not like vampires.  _He_  would be safer this way.

Trying to take as much comfort from this thought as possible, sleep finally dragged me under. And, despite the selfishness of the thought, I found myself wishing that I wouldn't resurface.

-

-

The next day came and brought with it my first ever hangover and the inevitable misery of it. I couldn't bring myself to get out of bed, and Charlie didn't make me. Didn't even try to.

My pillow was damp from tears, and my chest felt hollow, achy. I stared at the wall, my mind blank.

I thought things couldn't get any worse after I had to flee Hogwarts, and then I thought things couldn't get any worse after I learned that Luna was taken and feared dead.

Both times I was wrong.

It could get worse. It did get worse. The man I loved was gone.

The next seventy-two hours passed in a haze of misery. I didn't touch the food Charlie brought up to me, just vanishing it with my wand because how was I supposed to eat when the part of my brain that sensed hunger had been permanently crippled by the weight of my grief? How, when my stomach was probably the size of a quarter because my lead-weight heart had smashed it flat? 

I didn't leave my bed, barely even moved positions, just stayed curled up under the blankets, mourning.

On the fourth day, I finally managed to drag myself out of bed. I showered, dressed and tried eating breakfast with Charlie, managing a few mouthfuls. After asking me nearly a dozen times if it was alright, he left for work at around eight, and I moved to sit in front of the TV, staring listlessly at the blank screen and hugging my legs to my chest. 

The shrill ringing of the doorbell at some time around noon prompted me to drag myself off the sofa and over to the door. I opened it and frowned at the delivery boy, who looked a bit horrified at my appearance. I didn't even want to think about how awful I looked, when I felt so hollow and lifeless inside. 

"A parcel for Miss Isabella Swan," he stammered and I nodded. 

"'S me." I mumbled, and he hastily handed me a form to sign which I did, mindlessly, then handed me the gift box that had been set on the ground beside him and practically shoving it into my hand and fleeing. 

I thought belatedly I might recognise him from one of the lower year levels, and decided I definitely shouldn't look in the mirror if I was terrifying poor juniors. 

Not giving the boy further thought, I concentrated on the gift box I was holding. 

Was it a present from Renée? I wondered. It was just like her to forget my birthday and send me the presents days, if not weeks, late.

Trudging back inside and then slumping back down onto the couch, I pulled off the paper, only half concentrating on my actions, my attention miles away. That was until the smell hit me. I looked down then screamed, leaping to my feet, sending the box flying.

Chest heaving, wand out, and feeling more alive then I had since  _He_  left, I stared in wide-eyed horror at the contents of the 'gift', now spilled across the living room floor. My stomach rolled, and I had to press a fist against my mouth to keep from throwing up.

It was Griselda. Or, to be more specific, it was her corpse. Her very mangled corpse; both horrifically burnt and torn to pieces.

And amidst the horrific mess, amidst the tortured remains of my beautiful sooty owl, was a strip of plain white paper, with five words inked across it in what looked horrifyingly like blood. 

_'A Mate For A Mate'_


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX:**

_"A witch?" Rosalie's voice was heavy with disbelief and skepticism._

_"Yes," I say, my chin high, meeting her golden-eyed glare. We're sitting at the Cullen's dining room table, and Edward has just filled the rest of the family in for the first time about James's demise- and the leading role I played in it._

_It goes without saying that they were very skeptical. I didn't blame them- they hadn't been there, like Edward had, hadn't seen what I'd done. But I calmly met each of their gazes, even Rosalie's, portraying a calm confidence I didn't even know I possessed._

_"Alright... say we believe you," Carlisle sounds cautious, "What exactly do your powers entail?"_

_"Many things," I say, trying not to sound too much like a show-off, yet wanting them to truly understand the capabilities of my powers, of the powers every witch and wizard has. "Much more then what your Gifts can do."_

_"Such as?" Emmett prompts, looking excited._

_"It's hard to really describe the full scope of my magic."_ _I admit, thinking._

_"What kind of scope are we talking about?" Jasper asks, his expression sharper then Emmett and Alice's, because he understands the danger, the risk, where all they see is fun and games, unconsciously unable to see a human as a risk, despite the fact I'd destroyed James._

_I feel uncomfortable at Jasper's question, and chew on my lip. "An almost exhaustive one. We can cast spells for protection that work like impermeable shields, turn ourselves into animals, create potions that heal skin, flesh and bones, spells and cloaks of invisibility and camouflage. We can turn turtles into teapots, appa-teleport from one location to another, conjure birds from thin air, create objects of wondrous beauty and infinite power..."_

_I pause, my face growing darker. "I could immobilize you with a flick of my wand, read you minds and wipe your memories." I_ _say_ _, softly. "I could strip a person of their skin and turn them inside out. I could inflict the greatest pain imaginable on someone, without ever leaving a mark on their skin." I close my eyes, feeling sick at my words. "I could turn you into_ _my_ _personal puppet, unable to fight against a single command_ _but aware of every action. And I can kill with only a pair of words, and from that there would be no escape."_

_Silence follows my speech, and I wipe at my damp eyes with the back of my sleeve. "Our power is a blessing, our magic a gift." I say quietly. "It gives us abilities most could never even dream of. But it is gifted to the good and the bad, and for every good spell there is an evil one to match."_

_The room is deathly quiet. I focus my gaze on my hands, not wanting to see the expressions on my vampire family's faces._

_"Well," breathes Carlisle, finally, "do I dare ask for a demonstration after that?"_

-

-

I bury Griselda in the back garden, and with her I bury not my memories of Edward, but the part of me that had been unable to let him go, that had left me crippled with what had felt to be an all-consuming depression. 

It's not hard to decipher the message, or to guess who it's from- Victoria is angry. Beyond angry- the phrase 'murderous rage' comes to mind. And I don't have time anymore to be distracted by my mourning. Keeping my eyes open for a dangerous, furious vampire hell-bent on retribution will be a full time job, because when she finds out the Cullens have left, it's not going to be gifts in the mail out of fear of getting too close- no, it's going to be bloody open season on the human.

-

I don't return to school for the remainder of the week, and instead spend my time pouring over every book I have that mentions vampires or warding. I want to put up a ward to keep Victoria away from my house, but none of my books have the information I need, and I only manage to set up a ward that feeds suggestions to the mind of anyone with malicious intent that there's something else they want to   try and do before breaking into my house. 

It's a weak ward, and won't hold off anyone with a certain degree of determination, and I search my history books for a mention of a wizarding village or shopping district here in America, but don't succeed in finding any. I know they have to exist, but they'll be as well hidden as Diagon Alley and I want to pull my hair out in my intense frustration. 

Victoria is after me, and I'm getting  _nowhere_  trying to figure out how to stop her. 

-

After my week off school, going back in again is... strange. And difficult. As the weeks start to trickle by, I find myself sitting in the library at lunchtimes, like I did before Edward. Before I fell in love. Before he left me.

Angela sometimes joins me. She's a sweet person, and so kind. She doesn't try to talk to me about the Cullens, not like some of the other students try, instead we talk about school, and about my time in Britain, and even about our families. 

Angela has twin younger brothers, Isaac and Isaiah, and she has countless funny stories about them that I gradually start to genuinely enjoy listening to. 

It's three weeks after I've returned to school that Angela invites me over to her house for a sleepover. I agree, because when I mention it to Charlie I see the hope in his tired eyes.  

Friday afternoon, after school, Angela drives us to her place. It's a nice house, two stories with white washboard walls and a dark blue roof. It's right next to the church, and Angela's dad is the pastor. 

Mrs. Weber is warm and welcoming to me. She baked a casserole for dinner, and the Webers all sat down together to eat as a family. It reminded me a bit of eating with the Weasleys, the only other big family I knew (other then the one I did not think about) and that made me feel lighter just on principle. 

It was later, when Angela and I were making our way up to her room after watching a movie together, when it happens. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice the people in one of the photographs hanging up on the walls are moving.

I freeze, spinning in place and closing the distance between myself and the photograph in three quick steps. It's one of a younger Mrs. Weber with her family, and it's definitely a wizarding photograph, the inhabitants smiling and waving. Angela gasps, and I turn to face my wide-eyed friend.

"You're a  _witch_?" she asks, incredulously, and I have my wand out and pointed at her in an instant. My heart's racing in my chest, and my palms are damp with sweat. Angela hurriedly raises her hands in the universal gesture of surrender. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry- I was just surprised," she babbles, nervously, "I- my mom's a squib- that's her family. The photo's warded so that non-magicals can't see it move."

"You're not blood purists?" I ask, cautiously, and she shakes her head hurridley.

"Oh lord no," she assures me, "I'm not a witch, and dad's a muggle- out of all of us, only the twins show any signs of being magical." I exhale, and slowly lower my wand.

"Sorry about that," I apologize, blushing slightly as I realise just how rude practically threatening my host with a potentially deadly weapon is. "It's just..." I hesitate, wondering how to put in words the fear that's always constantly lurking under my skin. Angela catches on before I even need to. 

"Oh my god!" she says, hand covering her mouth, her eyes widening in horror, almost comically huge behind her glasses. "You- you went to school in  _Britain_! Oh, you didn't go to  _Hogwarts,_ did you?" I shift slightly, uneasily and nod. Her eyes widen impossibly further. "But- is it true- is he really in charge? He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?" she breathes. 

"Yeah," I whisper, unable to help my shudder. "Yeah, H-He is " 

"Oh you poor thing!" Angela gasps, closing the distance between us and wrapping her arms around me and squeezing fiercely. I freeze for a few moments before hugging her back. "What's it like?" she asks quietly, her lips near my ear, and my voice cracks as I answer her.

"Horrible. I don't know whether my best friend is alive or dead, and I had to escape because I'm a Muggleborn and horrible things are happening to Muggleborns, and I don't know what's going on because I'm in hiding!"

I don't fully realize I'm crying until Angela pulls back to hand me a tissue from her pocket. 

"I'm so sorry," she says, and I give a choked laugh. 

"Not as sorry as me." I use the tissue to blow my nose, and wipe my eyes with the back of my sleeve.

"Is- is there anything I can do?" Angela asks, hesitantly. I'm about to shake my head when I realize-

"Wait, does your mom know where any wizarding shopping districts are?" I ask urgently, and Angela nods.

"Of course! She takes us to one a few times a year- it's called Morte Alley and it's an amazing place," Angela's eyes shine as she talks about it. "Here, we can go talk to mum now," she says, gently grasping my hand and leading the way to the master bedroom. She knocks on the door. "Mom?" she calls, softly, "can I talk to you?"

"Are you alright, Angel?" Mrs. Weber asks, her voice sounding concerned, and she exits the room a moment later, still tying her bathrobe as she does so. She then stills as she spots the wand in my hand, her eyes widening. "You're a witch?" she asks, sounding shocked.

"She escaped from Britain, mom," Angela tells her, and Mrs. Weber's eyes widen further- I can see where Angela got her habit from, I think. 

"Oh, you poor dear," Mrs. Weber says, a compassionate look on her face, "I'm so glad you managed to get out of there safely." I give her a weak sort of smile.

"Yeah, I am too." She lets out a sweet laugh, though her eyes are very sad.

"You must be a muggleborn," she says, and I nod.

"Yes." I say, quietly. She closes her eyes, face pained, then opens them again.

"Do you know how things are going over there?" she asks quietly, and I shake my head.

"All I know is what I can get off Potterwatch." I admit. "It's an illegal radio station, run by some people I know from school."

"Ah, Harry Potter," Mrs. Weber smiles slightly, "such a brave boy. We know all about him, even here in the United States. I daresay the whole Wizarding World knows about him."

"He's a nice person." I say, quietly, "and I think he can win this war for us." Mrs. Weber reaches forwards and squeezes my shoulder.

"I'm praying for him," she says, seriously, and I smile tiredly.

"I think we all are, Mrs. Weber."

"Mom," Angela speaks up, quietly, "Bella was wondering if you could take her to Morte Alley."

"I need to pick up some books," I explain to her, "and some... other things."

"Other things?" Mrs. Weber raises a thin eyebrow.

"Defenses against vampires," I admit, "there's one after me." Mrs. Weber and Angela both give me incredulous looks.

"How on earth did that happen?" Mrs. Weber asks.

"Er, you remember Edward?" I say, trying to ignore the ache in my chest that his name brings. My eyes burn and I blink a few times, determined not to cry.

"I thought the Cullens were animal drinkers?" Mrs. Weber frowns. I'm surprised for a moment that she knows what the Cullens are, but shake it away. I shouldn't be surprised, really- she  _is_  from a wizarding family.

"They are," I explain, "but they destroyed a vampire who was trying to kill me, and now that vampire's mate wants to kill me in revenge. You know- a mate for a mate."

"That," Mrs. Weber says, after a long pause, "is very unfortunate." I let out a bleak laugh.

"Tell me about it."

"Well," Mrs. Weber says, thoughtfully, "it looks like we've got a shopping trip to prepare for."

-

When morning comes, Mrs. Weber produces a Portkey for us, having written to one of her brothers last night requesting one, and the Weber family owl- Atlas- flew back with it this morning.

As we arrive, it's easy to see that Morte Alley, although much smaller then Diagon or Knockturn Alley, is far more modern. In Britain, the Alleys were all similar; olde style buildings, wizards and witches in robes, everything just a little bit dusty or odd to give it that 'genuine antique' feel.

Morte Alley, however, reminded me of Muggle shopping centers. All the shops were clean and all the people were in normal clothes- jeans were everywhere and there wasn't one pointy hat in sight.

"Is that an electronics shop?" I ask, surprised, at the sight of one of the closer shops. "I thought that muggle technology doesn't work in places with high concentrations of magic!"

"Britain," Mrs. Weber said, an amused smile on her face, "is quite behind America in some ways. There are various spells and runes that can be used to ensure that magic doesn't fry the electronics."

"Wow," I mumble, wide eyed.

"You can even use credit cards," Mrs. Weber says, cheerfully.

"I think I'm in heaven." I say happily.

My immediate stop is a bookshop to buy several different books, both about vampires and about warding, before doing a little browsing. 

Mrs. Weber and Angela meet me where we arrived, and we all Portkey back to Forks.

"Did you get everything you needed?" Mrs. Weber asks, and I nod.

"I did, thank you." I say, and she smiles.

"Did you know, Bella," she says, conversationally, "that the Hogwarts Magical Birth Register is the only means in Britain of definitively noting the birth of witches and wizards born who are eligible to attend Hogwarts? The Ministry has no way of knowing themselves when a magical person is born, let alone who they are and who their parents are."

"That's... fairly stupid." I blink, surprised. "How does the Ministry know who they are supposed to be, you know, ministering over?"

"You register when you come of age. You need it to get your Apparition license. The British Ministry is really only concerned about those witches and wizards who can vote, and it's a method to note the Muggleborns who aren't born in the Wizarding system anyway. I frown.

"That sounds extremely inefficient."

"It means, though, faking an identity is a lot simpler because of the British Ministry's incompetence. Have you heard of the  _Secunda Nomine_  spell?"

"Er, not really." I admit. 

" _Secunda Nomine_  is a ritual used to give oneself another name, secondary to your own. I spoke to my father, he's a wizarding lawyer, about your situation in my letter yesterday- he suggested it. It lets you be two people at once." Mrs. Weber explained. 

"How does it work?" I ask, curiously.

"Blood magic, mainly, and a little spellwork. It's technically illegal, but most rituals of its age and type are, regardless of what they do or if they are even known about. There are spells to legally change one's name, but using them won't completely hide who you were before.  _Secunda Nomine_  doesn't permanently give you a new name, it gives you a second one."

"Legal is overrated," I say, very eager to hear more about the spell, "so the ritual?" I prompted, and Mrs. Weber smiled.

"Like I said, it doesn't change a name, it just conceals it. Identity spells or methods such as verbal interrogations with truth serums will give out the assumed name, rather than the original. You control when and where it is perceived. It's a disguise."

"How can I do this?" I asked.

"You need another person," Mrs. Weber explained, "another witch or wizard. If you're open to it, I'm  
sure my father or one of my brothers can help."

"Yes please," I say, nodding eagerly, "thank you so much!" Mrs. Weber smiled.

"Anytime, Bella, sweetheart."

-

After promising to write to her family, Mrs. Weber drove me home, and I made my way up to my bedroom with my new purchases. 

Things are changing. I've got access to a Wizarding town. I can use magic. I'm not helpless.

Victoria's got a nasty surprise coming her way.

 

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed it. Comment/vote <3**

 


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN:**

 

_"Okay, so you're a witch. That doesn't explain why your life is in danger." Jasper pointed out. I grimace._

_"That's an even longer story."_

_"We've got time." Rosalie gave a sort of half sneer and Edward glared at her. I sighed._

_"At the moment... well,_ _magical Britain_ _is at war. A sort of civil war, I guess you can call it." I close my eyes briefly, grief twisting through my body. "The... the Dark side is lead by a man who people are so terrified of that they fear even saying his name- we just call him You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. You-Know-Who hates Muggles-that's non-magical people, and considers Muggleborns- witches and wizards born to Muggle parents- to be little better. Purebloods think they're superior to us mudbloods," I spit out the word_ _with a venom and hatred that visibly takes aback the Cullens_ _, "because our family tree doesn't look like an overgrown bramble where people search for their future spouses at a family reunion!" I take a few deep breaths, calming myself down._

_"His radical views have drawn others to him like moths to a flame. It's... it's awful, right now. Like the Holocaust, in World War II. Muggleborns are being rounded up, killed, imprisoned and worse," Kissed, I think, though I don't have the will to explain that right now, and instead continue with my explanation. "You-Know-Who is_ _a_ _really, really powerful_ _wizard_ _-_ _much m_ _ore so then most; both politically and magically. His followers call themselves Death Eaters, and they follow him with a fanaticism and hatred that has no mercy."_

_I can't help a snort here. "To be honest, everyone hates everyone in Wizarding society- it's a wonder that there's only one war threatening to destroy it every generation or so."_ _I say bitterly._

_"How do you mean?" Esme asked, a worried look on her beautiful face._

_"Wizards tend to disparage Muggles and non-human magical creatures, said magical creatures hate wizards, Blood Purists hate Muggleborns and Blood Traitors, and the so-called Blood Traitors and, well, everyone else hates the Blood Purists."_

-

-

I took a deep breath and eyed the awkward, clunky object in my hands cautiously, like I was expecting it to explode and kill everything and everyone in the near vicinity. In my hands, it was certainly a possibility. 

"Bella," Charlie says, amused, "it's not loaded, sweetheart." I breathe a sigh of relief, relaxing somewhat, and hold the gun in my hand a little firmer. From what I'd gleaned from Charlie's lengthy explanation, the pocket-sized gun I was holding was called a "mouse gun", or, to be exact, a small semi-automatic handgun that was designed for concealed-carry self defense. 

To be honest, the only difference I could see between my mouse gun and Charlie's glock, standard police issue, was their size and clunky-ness. The look of horror on Charlie's face when I'd mentioned that had been incredibly amusing. 

"You really think this is the best idea?" I ask him now, not quite sure about his 'Master Plan'. 

"You told me yourself, Bella- witches and wizards, cleanbloods especially, underestimate anything to do with muggles." 

"Purebloods," I correct, absently, "but do you really think me having a gun is a good idea? I mean- it's me, we're talking about."

"After I teach you how to load it, we'll see if you can hit the target." Charlie says after a short pause, maybe stopping for the first time to consider the lethal weapon he's just handed me. 

But to my surprise, my aim turned out to be pretty good. It wasn't exactly a huge step from using magic as a weapon; it required the same concentration, the same steady aim and swift movements.

Charlie was as pleased as punch, and after making sure the safety was on and I'd stashed it in my belt (jolting slightly as the metal brushed against my bare skin), he began teaching part two of his Plan For Protecting Bella.

"You won't be saved by half measures," he said, looking very serious. "Whatever you do, Bella, you need to give it your all." Shifting nervously, I nod, and Charlie gives a small smile. "You're doing great, baby," he assures me.

"I don't feel like I am." I admit.

"You are," he says, sternly, "now let's talk self defense. Prevention is the best self defence, but if you can't get away then you need to be able to defend yourself. There are five main vulnerable areas on an attacker. The eyes, the neck, the knees, the groin and the nose. Now, depending on the position of the attacker, and how close he is, will you figure out where to hit. Do not step in closer to, for example, punch his nose with your hand when you can reach his knee with a kick.

"I don't think the groin needs much explanation- if it's in range, kick it and kick it hard. With eyes, you gouge, poke, scratch, and stab... any of those is effective. When hitting the nose, you throw the whole weight of your body into the move to cause the most pain. If the attacker's behind you, you can strike his nose with your elbow. Now the neck is a bigger target, especially the side where both the carotid artery and jugular vein are located, but it's trickier for a novice. It is possible to temporarily stun your attacker with a knife hand strike at the side of the neck, but a better move for you would be to thrust your elbow into your attacker's throat while pitching the weight of your body forward. And then the knee. The knee is an ideal target, vulnerable from every angle and easily kicked without risk of your foot being grabbed. Kick the side of the knee to cause injury or partially incapacitate your attacker. Kicking the front of the knee may cause more injury but is less likely to result in imbalance." Charlie pauses, and looks at me questioningly. "Did you get all that?" 

"I think I got the basics," I agree, feeling a touch squeamish and very overwhelmed by the sudden rush of information. 

"Good," Charlie says, "wait there." I do as he says, watching curiously as he disappears into the house for a few minutes, before emerging with a life-sized dummy. I stare as he sets it up, then takes several steps back, admiring his handiwork with a smile, before turning back to me. "Well Bells," he says, cheerfully, "show me what you learned."

Bugger.

-

-

"Bells?" I heard Charlie ask and I looked up from the book in front of me (' _Vampyres: Creatures Moste Foul'_ ) to see my dad standing in the doorway. 

"Yes?" I asked, moving so I was in a sitting position. It was Sunday and the weather was particularly foul, all howling winds and torrential rain. It was now a day after I'd visited Morte Alley with Angela and her squib mother, a day since Charlie had given me a rather impromptu lesson on how to defend myself and taught me how to shoot a gun- a gun I currently had tucked into the waistline of my pants. 

"Well, I just thought I'd let you know that Billy and Jacob are coming over for dinner," he said, and I nodded. 

"Okay. Would you like me to cook something?" 

"No, it's fine, I just thought I'd give you some advanced warning." He smiled, before closing my door again. I listened to his retreating footsteps, a frown on my face. 

I wasn't looking forward to seeing Billy at all. I knew he'd be only too happy about Edw-  _His_  leaving, along with the rest of the Cullens. My heart beat unsteadily in my chest at that thought, and my eyes swam with tears I determinedly blinked away.

The sound of a beak tapping against the window in the kitchen causes me to stand up in surprise, making my way over and undoing the latch. I recognize Atlas, the Weber's owl, and remove the letter tied to its leg.

_Bella,_ it reads,  _mom's brother is here, prepared for the ritual to change your name. He said he can organize your new identity with a forger he knows (and no, he wouldn't say why or how he knew the forger) to set you up with some papers. Love Angie._

"Dad!" I call out, folding the letter and stashing it in my pocket, summoning my keys from my room with a flick of my wand, "I'm off to Angela's- I should be back by dinner!"

"Okay!" Charlie calls back from the lounge, where I can hear the football playing. 

The drive to Angela's is quick, though I get absolutely soaked on my trip from the house to my truck, then from my truck to Angela's front door. Shivering, I knock on the wood of the blue door, and it swings open.

Angela smiles at me, stepping to the side so I can get out of the rain, and I pull out my wand and cast a drying spell. "I hate this weather," I groan. 

"I thought you liked the rain," she teased.

"I like the snow." I grumble, "and the cold. And Scotland. Not this monstrosity." Angela laughs, and leads me into the kitchen where a man is sitting at the table, sipping from a porcelain cup, looking every bit elegant and regal... except for his clothing, which was one hundred percent muggle, from the Nikes on his feet, to the sweatshirt and jeans. 

"You must be Bella!" he greets me, cheerfully.

"Hi, Mr...?"

"Li, but feel free to call me Yin."

"Are you related to Sue Li?" I ask on a whim, curious.

"She's the eldest daughter of my sister," Yin said, a touch surprised, "Why, do you know her?" 

"It's a small world," I say, with a slight smile, "she's one of my housemates, in the year above me."

Yin laughs. "It's a small world indeed." He agrees. "Now, Miss Bella, have you chosen a new name?"

"I thought Marie," I say, after a slight pause, "Marie Mason."

"Marie Mason. Mason is a muggle name, so you'll need to be a halfblood, with a pureblood mother, halfblood father." Yin plans, aloud. "Sit down." He directs me, and I sit across from him. He pulls his wand out of his sleeve, and I take a moment to admire it. It's carved from bamboo, and is polished to the point where it's shining an almost gold light.

"Ten inches, bamboo, with a lóng whisker core."

"A lóng?" I ask.

"Chinese dragon," Yin smiles. "Now, hold out your hands." 

I do as he says, and he starts chanting in what sounds like Chinese. As the tip of his wand moves over my palms, I grit my teeth against the uncomfortable sensation. It feels like sharp electric shocks are leaving his wand, jabbing into my sensitive flesh.

I close my eyes and count to a hundred, slowly, then when the ritual shows no signs of finishing, start counting to two hundred. I'm at one hundred and seventy three when Yin speaks up.

"You can open your eyes again," he said, placing his wand back on the kitchen table. He pulled a phial of soft green potion out of his pocket, and produced a small knife. "I need three drops of blood." He instructed, and I followed his instructions, nicking my finger with the dagger and letting three beads of crimson roll across my pale skin, dripping into the potion, which changed color to a dark indigo, not unlike ink. 

"This is going to hurt." Yin warned as he passed over the potion, I nodded took a deep breath and drank down the liquid. The effect was instant. I dropped the phial and fell back against the chair, my closing my eyes tight as what felt like liquid ice ran through my veins, so cold it hurt.

When the pain faded, I opened my eyes. Yin was vanishing the now empty potion phial, and I rubbed my eyes with my sore hands. 

"Is it over?" I ask, hopefully.

"Almost," Yin says, pulling a camera out of his pocket, which I guess has an undetectable extension charm on it, "smile." 

Confused, I do as he says, forcing a smile on my uncooperative face. There's a flash of light, and Yin nods in satisfaction, pocketing the camera again. "Can I ask why...?" I gesture to his pocket.

"Your identification papers, of course," Yin says, with a smile. "Marie Mason will need a photo, after all."

-

-

By the time I arrive back home, Jacob and Billy have already arrived. "Bella," Charlie greets me, cheerfully, as I walk through the door, shivering fiercely.

"I need a shower," I tell him, "I'll be down in about half an hour." Charlie nodded, and, purposefully not meeting Billy's eyes, I headed up the stairs to the matchbox bathroom I shared with my father.

The warm water almost scalded my skin, turning it red. I stayed under the hot spray for nearly ten minutes before reluctantly stepping out. A few flicks of my wand dried me and my hair, which I cast a small notice-me not charm over, so the fact it had already fully dried, wouldn't gain any attention.

Dressing warmly in sweats and my Weasley jumper, which I'd cleaned and fixed using magic, since that disastrous birthday party which I had blocked out the best I could, I made my way down stairs to curl up on the couch next to Charlie. I purposefully ignored Billy completely, instead concentrating on rolling my D.A. coin around in my hands, though I did smile at Jacob. 

We had fish fry for dinner, and Jacob offered to help me clean the dishes afterwards, despite the fact Charlie protested that neither of us had to. "Do you want to wash or dry?" I asked, as I filled the sink with sudsy water. 

"I don't mind," Jacob said, sounding shy. 

"Drying it is," I tell him, tossing him the tea-towel, "don't worry about putting it away, I can do that." Jacob nods, and we work in comfortable silence. He's nice to hang out with, I decide; maybe I'll do it more often. After all, I don't have to wait for Charlie to invite them to dinner and footy, he lives on the reservation, I can go visit him.

-

-

Atlas arrives the next morning, carrying a muggle cardboard tube in his claws which I knew muggles used for mailing documents. I pop open the end and pull out the rolled papers within, and I can't help but grin as I read the identification papers for Marie Mason, aged 17.

Because I have a very good idea of how to use my new papers- I may not be able to write to Xeno, but I could always talk to him.

Yes, I decided, perhaps somewhat stupidly (okay, definitely stupidly, and definitely idiotically and moronical and a whole lot of other synonyms to complete and utter fool)- I was going to Britain.

 


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT:**   
  


_"Hello," Luna greeted the blank-faced boy, "it's a lovely day, isn't it? I can tell- the Dabberblimps are very excitable. Can you see them?"_

_"H-he wants you," Draco mumbled, unable to look her in the eye._

_"Oh," Luna said, thoughtfully, before holding out a hand. "Can you help me to my feet? My legs are quite weak. I haven't eaten for days, you see." Draco's expression was suspicious for a long moment, and then he, cautiously, held out a hand, and helped pull the thin, battered girl to her feet. Luna beamed up at him._

_"Thank you Draco." She said, before she gently pressed a small flower with white petals into his hand. "It's a daisy- do you like it? It's a symbol of innocence you know." She smiled, dreamily. Draco stared at it, equal parts scared and something else, some unidentifiable emotion he couldn't quite hide._

_"Wh-what... who... when... how did you get this?" he demanded. Luna blinked at him, owlishly, her expression confused._

_"Why, the nargles gave it to me, of course. Who else?"_

_"Who else," mumbled Draco, under his breath, gently slipping the daisy into his pocket._

-

-

The Portkey, which I purchased from Morte Alley, and cost me nearly three hundred dollars, takes me to Diagon Alley. I'm dressed in traditional robes, pointed hat and all, and I keep my head down as I walk through the streets.

This place looks nothing like the amazing, awe-inspiring place it was, the first time I entered it. Instead, there are homeless people walking around aimlessly, covered in bloodied bandages; an 'M' branded on their necks, just above the collarbone.

Mudblood.

I shiver, making my way to the Leaky Cauldron as quickly as I can. I don't run into any Death Eaters or Snatchers, for which I'm relieved, though my stomach feels like someone tipped a vat of acid in it. Tom is still running the Leaky Cauldron, but he looks tired and thin, and he barely notices as I pass through the dusty pub.

Outside the alley, I breathe a sigh of relief and hold up my wand, summoning the Knight Bus. It appears with a loud bang, and I jump slightly, my nerves frayed by being here, being back here after I escaped it.

Luna, I remind myself; this is for Luna. I have to know what happened to her.

I have to know if she's alive.

"Ottery St. Catchpole please," I tell the driver, Aaron or Ernie or something, I can't remember, handing him seven sickles. He gives a toothy grin, and I make my way to the middle of the bus, holding onto the side of the seat tight as the bus hops through the air with a loud 'Bang!'.

There aren't many people on the bus, and the ones on it are carefully avoiding eye contact with anyone else.

My life seems to have been ruled by a law, for as long as I can remember: anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Add to that my personal addendum that it will go wrong in a spectacular fashion, I don't know why I was so surprised when a pair of Snatchers boarded the bus- really, I should have expected it.

"Show us your papers!" Demanded the hairy one, with his straggly beard nearly reaching his armpits. I pull out my Marie Mason papers with trembling hands as the other snatcher, this one as tall and skinny as a rake, walks past. He grabs them roughly, waves his wand over them and then nods, handing them back before moving on to the next passenger.

I'm feeling dizzy with relief when there's a shout, and one of the passengers shoves the skinny one aside, diving for the doorway. " _Sectumsempra_!" yells the hairy Snatcher and I can't help my scream as blood squirts everywhere, and the man who tried to run falls to the ground.

"Pah! Dirty Mudbloods make my skin crawl," spat the hairy man, before his beady eyes scan the bus, perhaps daring us to say something. I knot my hands together, feeling sick, while the skinny one stands back up.

"Filth," he sneers, looking down at the motionless figure on the ground.

I'm shaking, shaking violently, as the snatchers exit the bus, and I can't help my gaze being dragged to the man.

He's been slashed open with a spell that's sliced from his left ear to under his right arm. Part of his jaw has been severed and is now lying on the stone floor, connected only by a flap of skin from his neck, and the bone of his ribcage was visible through the torn flesh left by the curse, dark with rapidly pooling blood. I watched; sickened, horrified, unable to drag my sight away from his agonised eyes as the light faded out of them and what was once a living, breathing person was reduced to a mass of broken flesh and bone.

One of the other passengers points her wand at the body and murmurs a spell, too quiet for me to hear. I watch, sickened, as the body is transfigured into a doll of sorts, and then vanished.

I close my eyes and look away, feeling like throwing up.

When the bus stopped at Ottery St. Catchpole, I just about sprinted out, almost slipping in the pool of blood as I did so.

Taking broken, gasping breaths, I make my way to the Rook, nearly a kilometer walk from where I was dropped off. The Rook is a black-coloured cylindrical house, on the top of a hill with a stream at the base of it. It earned its nickname due to the fact it looks like a giant chess rook.

It feels almost surreal being back in this familiar environment.

The front yard of The Rook is entered through a broken down gate, which Xeno had tacked on signs which said ' _Editor of the Quibbler'_  and ' _Pick Your own Mistletoe'_ , and from the gate a path zigzags up to the front door. Along both sides of the path are a variety of odd plants which make up the garden, including a Snargaluff, a plant with the appearance of a gnarled stump that hides dangerous thorn-covered vines that attack when provoked, some Gurdyroots, and a bush covered in Dirigible plums. Two old crab apple trees stand on either side of the front door, bearing berry-sized fruits and white-headed mistletoe. The front door was thick and black, studded with iron nails, with a knocker shaped like an eagle.

My hand trembled as I knocked.

"Bella?" Whispered Xeno, as he opened the door and stared at me. The intense look on his face disturbed me almost as much as the state of complete and utter disarray he was in. His dirty blond hair, the exact same shade as Luna's, was even more straggly then usual, he appeared as if he hadn't shaved for weeks, and he was barefoot and dressed in robes that looked like they hadn't been cleaned in days.

"Hi Xeno," I greet him, managing a weak smile. "Can I come in?"

"I- yes, yes of course Bella," he half stammers, taking a few hasty steps backwards so I can walk into the house. I have to fight the urge to block my nose as a pungent smell washes over me.

He leads me through the kitchen to the living room room. It's a cluttered, entirely round room that serves as both a living room, a dining room and a workplace for Xeno. It looks somewhat labyrinthine, with piles of books and papers covering every surface. The ceiling was dotted with small delicately made models of creatures that could flap their wings, or snap their jaws. The printing press is set up in the corner of the living room, with all the bells and whistles (literal bells and whistles), the dining table was covered in clutter, everything from a book on household charms, to what looked like a decomposing garden gnome.

Well, that explained the smell.

"Tea?" Xeno offered, weakly. I turned to face him again. He was wringing his hands, a pained expression on his face.

"That would be wonderful." I say and he nods and hurries out of the room, almost tripping over his robes as he does so. I take the time to pull out my wand and vanish the dead gnome as well as casting several cleaning charms to remove the dust and deal with the smell while he's out of the room, not wanting to offend or embarrass him, but definitely unable to cope with the stench and general aura of uncleanliness.

Feeling a touch better about the state of things (though not much), I wander over to the Cabinet of Wonder, as I had long since nicknamed this particular corner of The Rook. Currently inside the large display cabinet, carved out of some glossy, deep red-brown wood, with shining glass windows and silver handles, each fashioned in the shape of an eagle, two horns are being proudly displayed, as well as a necklace made out of a string of sea urchin shells, an egg the size of my fist with a pinkish shell and a rather bizarre contraption that I knew to be Xeno's attempt at recreating the lost Diadem of Ravenclaw- dirigible plums and all.

"I- I see you noticed the snorkack horns," I hear Xeno say. I jump slightly at the sound of his voice, so close to me without my even hearing his approach. "Th-they're for Luna."

My heart clenched at the devastated look that crossed his face as he spoke his daughter's, my best friend's, name.

"Luna... Xeno, is it true? Do they really have her?" I ask, looking up at him, pleading with my eyes for him to say that no, they didn't have her, she was safe, my best friend was safe. Xeno let out a loud sob and I felt tears stream down my cheeks at the nonverbal response to my plea. Xeno staggered forwards and I grabbed him, hugging him as he clutched onto me. I could feel his bones digging in to me, sharp and pointy, barely covered by skin.

We cry together, until Xeno pulls back. His pendant, the one he always wears of the strange symbol, a triangle with a line and circle inside it, is hanging free, untucked from his robes. He sniffs and opens the cabinet, pulling out one of the snorkack horns.

"Luna... she would have wanted you to have this." He whispered. I accept the smooth horn, about the size of my hand with a sort of crumpled appearance, almost like it was going to cave in on itself, and look up at Xeno, fresh fear flooding me.

"She- she would have?" I ask, my voice going high in my panic, "is she-"

"She's alive." Xeno says, his expression one of agony. "I'm so sorry Bella."

"What? Why are you apologising?" I ask, confused, and then I hear the sound of two cracks.

Apparation.

"I'm so sorry." Xeno repeats, and I turn to face him, first bewildered then comprehending as it slowly dawns on me what's going on.

I've been betrayed.

I've been reported to the Ministry as a Muggleborn who was on the run.

"Snatchers or Death Eaters?" I ask in a voice that's calmer then I thought it would be.

"Death Eaters. They won't give me back my Luna unless I help them." He croaked, "Bella, you have to understand-"

"Shut up." My order is still spoken in that calm, calm voice, and he falls silent.

'Bella' a phantom voice whispers, a voice that sounds like Edward's, in all its velvety glory, 'you have to get out of there!' I really should be worried that I'm starting to hear things, but I don't have time to be shocked or concerned about my mental welfare.

'I don't know how to fucking apparate!' I mentally scream at my hallucination (because what the hell else could it be); 'I only know the fucking theory!' 

And if I get out of this alive, begging Yin Li to teach me how will be the first fucking thing I do. 

" _Expelliarmus_!"

I react instinctively to the shouted spell, dropping to my knees so Xeno's spell goes flying over my head.

" _Stupe_ -!" my shouted spell, as I scramble back to my feet, is cut off as Xeno's second disarming spell hits me in the chest, and my wand flies across the room, into his hand.

The door to The Rook is blasted open and my heart's beating a thousand miles a second, adrenaline swelling in my veins. I realize I'm still holding the snorkack horn and shove it in my pocket, while simultaneously going for my mouse gun.

BANG!

My aim is true and the second Death Eater and Xeno stare at the muggle contraption in my hand with a sort of confused horror, as the first Death Eater drops to the floor, lifeless, with a small hole in his forehead trickling blood the only visible wound. I stare, just as horrified and shocked by the accuracy of the shot. The Death Eater pulls himself together first, his face a mask of fury as he turns to me, his wand out and words already forming in his mouth... too bad a gun is so much faster then a wand.

BANG!

The second Death Eater staggers backwards, the bullet having hit him in the shoulder.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

I plug holes in the Death Eater with bullets until he's on the ground, not moving.

Blood is pooling on the floor, sprayed on the walls...

I feel sick looking at it.

I'm working on autopilot as I turn to face Xeno, my mind having shut down so it doesn't have to deal with what just happened. "Give me my wand." My voice is barely a whisper.

Looking at the gun in my hand, his expression terrified, Xeno basically throws my wand at me. I catch it with a display of athleticism that surprises the part of me that's not currently emotionally paralyzed, and shove the mouse gun in the scooping pocket of my robe, far more comfortable with the smooth, polished wood then the gleaming, cold metal.

" _Expelliarmus_!  _Petrificus Totalus_!" I cast, and Xeno falls to the ground, his wand having flown over my shoulder, crashing off the wall.

Still in my state of terrible calmness, I walk over to the printing press and lift up the blanket half covering it and look at the magazine sitting there. Harry's face is plastered on the front of the magazine- as well as the words ' _Undesirable No. 1_ '.

I close my eyes for a long moment before exiting The Rook, leaving Xeno petrified with the two dead Death Eaters. I know someone will find him before he dies of starvation or anything like that, and I'm not exactly averse to him suffering a little discomfort right now. Not after what he did.

_How could he?_

The walk back to where the Knight Bus dropped me off seemed to last forever, but be over in seconds. Nobody bothered me on the journey back to the Portkey point where I showed my Marie Masen papers and was given my return trip Portkey.

-

-

In the end, I'm proud of myself for actually reaching the house before I break down.

I collapse in the doorway, sobbing hysterically, hugging my knees to my chest. I barely notice as Charlie lifts me up, carries me to the couch and wraps a blanket around me. Blood splashes behind my eyelids, the sounds of gunfire mixing with images of Luna, sweet, gentle, precious Luna, and bodies and black robes, soaked in red, so much red. I pull the snorkack horn out of my robe pocket and cradle it to my chest, rocking back and forth.

Gone. Luna's been taken, taken by the monsters who had slaughtered that poor man in front of my eyes.

Sickening images of Luna sprawled on the ground, Luna's tiny frame nearly severed in half, Luna's blood spilling over the floor, causes my stomach to roll violently, and I lean forwards to throw up.

I don't really notice when Angela and Mrs. Weber arrive, but I do notice the soft arms hugging me, and the smell of Angela's sweet, strawberry scented shampoo and Mrs. Weber's flowery perfume.

"It's going to be alright," Angela says, soothingly, stroking my hair. 

I hold her, hug her, and try to think of anything but the fact the man I looked on as a second father of sorts, a man I had genuinely liked and had spent so much time with over the years, had tried handing me over to the Death Eaters.

Death Eaters which I...  _killed_.

I'm a murderer.

At that thought I vomited again, this time Mrs. Weber pushed the big mixing bowl in front of me so it didn't spill on the floor.

My best friend here in Forks rubbed soothing circles on my back, while Charlie and Mrs. Weber radiate a concern and sympathy, but throughout it, there's one thought kept pushing itself to the front of my mind.

I wanted Edward. I wanted  _him_  here, comforting me. I wanted to be in  _his_  arms and crying into  _his_  shirt.

And as I think this, the pain only grows.

 


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER NINE:**   
  
  


" _Hello to all those on the run, in hiding, or staying and standing up to You-Know-Who!"_

_"This is your update on what's what."_

_"Further news for those trying to get hold of a decent wand. Following the mysterious disappearance of Ollivander from Diagon Alley, news from abroad is that the famous wand-maker Gregorovitch has also vanished!"_

_"More_   _names to add to the list of those disappearing. A list the Ministry seems to be doing nothing about!"_

_"That's not completely true. They are denying people are disappearing, heh, that's doing something!"_

_"So, to help you disappear from view before the authorities_  make  _you disappear, here are some more top tips."_

_"A quick reminder for all those who were too terrified to pay attention in Care of Magical Creatures: Large? Stupid? More muscles than brains? That's a troll! Very strong, but very slow."_

_"If it looks dead, smells dead, but it's still moving, that's an Inferi! Run away!"_

_"Shifty look? Terrible clothes? Bad attitude? That's a Snatcher! Careful of them calling for reinforcements."_

_"But our most exciting broadcast of the day- we have a Potter sighting! That's right, folks- three mysterious someone's broke into the ministry through the use of polyjuice, freed a room full of Muggleborns and fed the Umbitch to Dementors!"_

_"Well, they didn't actually feed her to Dementors- she was stunned when they were enacting the break out, and unfortunately for her, there were Dementors in the room."_

_"Yeah. Veeeeery unfortunate."_

_"Remember:"_

_"We're here for you!"_

-

-

I wasn't sure what the hell I was doing- had I turned masochistic-developed a taste for torture? This was  _not_  a healthy thing to do.

But I continued to drive slowly down the overgrown lane, twisting through the trees that arched over me like a green, living tunnel. My hands were shaking, so I tightened my grip on the steering wheel.

I wanted- no, I  _needed_  to be close to him. To Edward. He was the only one I could think of that would truly know what I was going through. I had killed two people- evil people, yes, but I had still killed them.

He'd killed people too. Murderers, rapists... he'd killed evil people. I'd killed evil people. He'd have been able to understand, probably be one of the only people who'd know how to make it feel better. But he wasn't here. He was gone from my life, gone forever.

So I had thought of another way to be close to him.

After I parked in the spot I remembered, from what felt like forever ago, I placed my wand on my flat palm and murmured, " _Point me_."

It was Monday, nearly twelve-o-clock, and I'd skipped school, seeing as it had taken Mrs. Weber forcing a calming draught down my throat for me to actually calm down. The plan the adults had laid out for me was, most likely, for me to stay home and relax.

Which was why I'd climbed out my window and applied silencing charms to my truck so Charlie couldn't hear me leave. 

My wand spun on my palm, before settling in one direction, and, trusting my magic, I set off into the woods.

The forest was full of life today, which was good for it, with all the little creatures enjoying the momentary dryness. Somehow, though, even with the birds chirping and cawing, the insects buzzing noisily around my head, and the occasional scurry of the field mice through the shrubs, I felt empty.

I didn't realize quite how efficiently I was moving. I thought I'd covered maybe four miles, and I wasn't even starting to look around for it yet. And then, with an abruptness that disoriented me, I stepped through a low arch made by two vine maples-pushing past the chest-high ferns-into the meadow.

It was the same place; of that I was instantly sure. I'd never seen another clearing so symmetrical. It was as perfectly round as if someone had intentionally created the flawless circle, tearing out the trees but leaving no evidence of that violence in the waving grass. To the east, I could hear the stream bubbling quietly.

The place wasn't nearly so stunning without the sunlight, but it was still very beautiful and serene. It was the wrong season for wildflowers; the ground was thick with tall grass that swayed in the light breeze like ripples across a lake.

It was the same place... but it didn't hold what I had been searching for. The comfort I was longing for. (It didn't hold  _him_ ).

The disappointment was nearly as instantaneous as the recognition. I sank down right where I was, kneeling there at the edge of the clearing, beginning to gasp.

The meadow was empty of atmosphere, empty of everything, just like everywhere else. Just like me. My head swirled dizzily as I wrenched myself to my feet. At precisely that moment, a figure stepped out from the trees to the north, some thirty paces away and my magic pulsed, in an almost violent manner, causing the meadow grass around me to ripple.

A dizzying array of emotions shot through me in a second. The first was surprise; I was far from any trail here, and I didn't expect company. Then, as my eyes focused on the motionless figure, seeing the utter stillness, the pallid skin, a rush of piercing hope rocked through me.

I suppressed it viciously, fighting against the equally sharp lash of agony as my eyes continued to the face beneath the black hair, the face that wasn't the one I wanted to see. Next was fear; this was not the face I grieved for, but it was close enough for me to know that the man facing me was no stray hiker. Next the adrenaline, racing through my veins, piercing through the numbness, making me feel  _alive_.

And finally, in the end, recognition.

"Laurent," I said, warily. My hand moved slowly, into my pocket, closing around my wand, because those gleaming red eyes staring at me were the eyes of a predator- and in the natural order of things, I was its prey.

"Bella?" Laurent asked, looking astonished.

"You remember." I smiled, but it wasn't a nice smile.

He eyed me warily, and took a few steps towards me. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Isn't it the other way around? I do live here. I thought you'd gone to Alaska." I pointed out, narrowing my eyes at him. He stopped about ten paces away, cocking his head to the side.

"You're right," he agreed. "I did go to Alaska. Still, I didn't expect... When I found the Cullen place empty, I thought they'd moved on."

"Well done genius," I grinned at him, a mocking thing. "Yes, they did move on. Hence the empty house."

He didn't respond to my rudeness, but someone did. 

'Stop taunting him' the beautiful velvet voice whispered anxiously from my memory.

I started at the sound of his voice, reminded of at Xeno's house, at The Rook, when I was in danger- like I was now. My hallucination was probably right, a part of me pointed out. Antagonizing a vampire wasn't exactly the smartest thing to do.

But god-dammit, if I didn't feel  _alive_!

"Hmm," Laurent murmured. "I'm surprised they left you behind. Weren't you sort of a pet of theirs?" His eyes were innocent of any intended offense.

"Something like that."

"Hmm," he said, thoughtful again.

"Did the ginger bitch ever find you?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Laurent's expression flickered.

"Yes, Victoria did find me," he said, hesitating on that step. "I actually came here as a favor to her." He made a face. "She won't be happy about this."

"About what?" I asked, inviting him to continue, daring him.

He looked back at me and smiled-the expression made him look like a black-haired angel. "About me killing you," he answered in a seductive purr.

"Fuck you." I told him, point blank.

"Well that's not very nice," he said, a mock-affronted expression on his face. I smirked at him, while mentally begging for a distraction.

"I'm not a very nice girl."

"No, you are a  _very_  bad girl," Laurent purred, his ruby eyes darkening a shade in- was that lust?!? Bile threatened to claw in my throat as my brain turned over what he'd just said.

Oh  _hell_  no!

On the other hand, I needed some sort of distraction, so I could pull my wand out so I could kill the bastard. And as gross as it was, this could probably do the trick.

I reached up slowly with the hand not curled around my wand, and fiddled with the top button of my shirt, with what I hoped was a seductive look on my face. Laurent stepped forwards, eyes interested. I carefully moved the hand curled around my wand, pushing it up my sleeve so that when I moved my hand from the pocket, it was up my sleeve and out of sight.

I was just about to spring into motion, when Laurent whipped his head abruptly to the left. "I don't believe it!" he said. I didn't take the time to find out whatever the hell he didn't believe, instead I shifted my wand into my hand with a practiced move and shouted,

" _EXPULSO_!"

Laurent promptly exploded. Literally. Pieces of marble rained around the clearing, stretching for dozens of feet in every direction. I could see bits of hair and clothes, but mainly chunks of stone.

That was the fourth person I'd killed, a part of me noted.

"You just love me, don't you?" I asked, looking up at the sky. I sensed movement out of the corner of my eye, and I spun around to face it, my jaw falling open.

It was a wolf. A huge black wolf, easily as tall as a horse, but thicker, much more muscular. The long muzzle grimaced, revealing a line of dagger-like incisors. A grisly snarl rolled out from between the teeth, rumbling across the clearing like a prolonged crack of thunder. Flanking the black wolf on either side were another two gigantic beasts. One was a deep gray, the other brown, neither one quite as tall as the first.

Before I could even react, two more bloody wolves followed, lined up in a V, like geese flying south. Which meant that the rusty brown monster that shrugged through the brush last was close enough for me to touch, close enough to look into its eyes, dark eyes, nearly black; deep eyes seeming too intelligent for an ordinary animal.

'Don't move an inch' hallucination-Edward whispered. Seeing as I, unlike him, was faced with the massive beast, I didn't quite listen.

"Merlin's hairy testicles!" I shrieked, slashing my wand in a violent motion, " _Stupefy_!" A jet of red slammed into the russet wolf, throwing the massive beast at least five feet away from me, though it didn't knock it out. " _Protego_! Shit-shit-shit!  _Protego maxima_!" I chanted, twisting my wand in a circle above me, so the shimmering shield of light that appeared closed around me in a perfect sphere.

They had to be intelligent, the Ravenclaw in me pointed out when my heart rate had slowed back down to something that resembled normal; they were magical, and all magical beasts were intelligent to some extent. I just needed them to know I wasn't a threat to them.

"Look," I said, meeting the eyes of the biggest wolf, the black one. It was a reasonable guess that he was the one in charge- the 'alpha' of the pack. "I really, really don't want to hurt you, I swear. I just had a little run-in with a vampire and I want to go home and have a very, very long, very,  _very_  hot shower to wash away how grossed out I am. I also plan on celebrating the fact I'm still alive with a cheeseburger."

When none of them moved, the dark brown one still growling, I sighed, and ran the hand not currently holding my wand through my hair. "I don't know what you are, though Luna probably would. My guess since we're in America and you're mostly wolf-shaped is that you're a type of wisakachek, which means under all that fur you're human, and retain enough of your humanity to have the intelligence to understand me, so please know that I am not a danger to you, unless you are a danger to me."

The Alpha met my eyes and our gazes held for nearly a minute before the wolf made a whuffing sound, and jerked his head towards the edge of the meadow where I'd emerged. I nodded my thanks, my lips twitching into a smile as I acknowledged the absurdity of this situation. "Thanks Captain Jack."

'Bella!' groaned hallucination-Edward, 'can you try not to ridicule the dangerous beasts?'

'Not really,' I answered him, 'I'm kind of riding raw right now- faced with a deadly monster for the second time in less then ten minutes does that to a person'.

The russet furred wolf letting out a barking sound that I figured out was laughter, and I smiled at it. "You better be laughing at him, buddy," I said, before turning and walking in the direction the Alpha had gestured towards. I reached the edge of the forest and paused, turning back around to face the wolves.

"Thank you," I said, dipping my head respectfully. The Alpha held my gaze then nodded its head.

Walking back took a long time. A really long time. And that was even with the 'Point Me' spell. I really,  _really_  needed to get Yin Li to teach me how to apparate. By the time I reached my truck, I was tired enough to just fall asleep on the seat, but I didn't, not wanting to hang around.

I wasn't really sure what to think about the (probably) wisakacheks in the area. What I did know was that even though I was exhausted, I didn't feel numb anymore: I felt  _alive_. 

Or I did until I walked into the house and came face to face with Charlie, whose face was like thunder.

No, then I started feeling like dead meat.

"Did you get my note?" I asked, hesitantly. His eyes narrowed further.

I was so grounded.

 


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER TEN:**   
  


_"On a very serious note, it's not just the Wizarding world that's suffering. The new wizarding order is also affecting the Muggle world...badly."_

_"While Muggles remain ignorant of the source of their suffering, they continue to sustain, 'heavy casualties'."_

_"However, we do hear some truly inspirational stories of wizards and witches risking their own safety to protect Muggle friends and neighbors. Often, without the Muggle's knowledge! I'd like to appeal to all our listeners to emulate their example, perhaps by casting a protective charm over any Muggles dwelling in your street. Many lives can be saved if such simple measures are taken!"_

_"And what would you say to those listeners who reply that in these dangerous times, it should be, 'wizards first'?"_

_"I'd say that it's one short step from 'wizards first', to 'Purebloods first', and then to, Death Eaters. We're all human, aren't we? Every human life is worth the same, and is worth saving."_

_"Excellently put. So, for all those who want Britain-"_

_"free of Death Eaters-"_

_"and those who think Muggles should be protected,-"_

_"keep each other safe, keep faith, and help Harry Potter!"_

_"Yes! And we suggest that you continue to show your devotion to the man with the lightening scar by listening to..."_

_"POTTERWATCH!"_

-

-

I was right when I said Charlie was going to ground me. I hadn't been allowed out of the house unaccompanied for nearly two weeks now except for school, of course, and for Yin Li to teach me how to apparate. It was a really disgusting sensation, worse then Floos and Portkeys, but after five lessons I managed to 'pass' the test Yin set me. 

Although I now had the ability to literally disappear from my room, I knew that I'd done the wrong thing, and had obeyed the rules of my punishment, but I was starting to get serious cabin fever. Charlie was furious about my little disappearing trick, and I felt extraordinary bad as he spent about five minutes straight just yelling at me before hugging me and getting all tearful.

Way to make a girl feel like a class-A bitch.

One of the only positives was that Angela was still allowed to come over to visit. We did homework together and I started teaching her Arithmancy, a subject which fascinated my best female friend here in Forks, and she had enough ambient magic in her body and basic knowledge to be proficient at it. The fact that her latent magic wasn't enough to keep Edw- to keep  _him_  out of her head, while Charlie could, puzzled me but I put it down to our ancestors having an inclination towards the Mind Arts. 

Arithmancy had never been my favorite subject at Hogwarts, but I found myself enjoying teaching her, and she was a keen student. In fact, I was finding myself having to start reading my Arithmancy textbooks again in order to be able to keep tutoring her. 

Another thing I'd started doing in my far too large amounts of spare time was to read up on what the giant wolves I'd come across could be. I was still thinking shape-shifter. There were many different types of shape-shifters, but I'd narrowed it down to a legend I remembered in DADA my second year, about a type of wolf shape-shifter that had been named 'wisakachek' after the local legend about it. 

It was a Native American legend of how the power to shape-shift was a gift given to mortals by a spirit-god known as (predictably) Wisakachek. He was a benevolent god and friend of all humans. He was the spirit-god who was the guardian over the ancient magical art of shape-shifting. He lived in the woods in his naturally occurring wolf form. One day, while traveling in his human form Wisakachek came across two Native American braves who were hunting. The braves had no idea who Wisakachek was in his human form, so Wisakacheck tricked them, telling them that he was from a neighboring tribe and that he had been traveling day and night and that he was famished. The braves shared their food and sent the stranger on with some leftovers. 

A week later, the braves encountered Wisakachek again, in his human form, while hunting for deer. Wisakacheck asked them how the hunt was, to which the braves replied that they had been hunting all week with no luck. Wisakacheck, remembering their previous generosity, informed them that he had no meat to share with them, but that he did have a gift to share. The gift was shape-shifting. 

Of course, this was only a legend about how the ability to shape-shift was first 'developed' and then passed down from son to son, and like I said the wolf-shifters were named by wizards as wisakachek after the legend- the actual physics, biology and magic of how the shape-shifters actually got their 'power' was a whole different basket of eggs altogether, but that didn't matter, because I remembered-  _vividly_ \- another Native American legend about how their peoples' ability to shape-shift into wolves had come about. 

And it gave me a pretty good idea of just who the wolf shape-shifters I'd encountered were.

-

-

"Class, this is Katie Marshall." 

I looked up from the lined notepad I was scribbling an Arithmancy equation that had hit me out of the blue on to see a new face.

The girl- Katie- was pretty, with two blond plaits, rosy cheeks and blue eyes the shape of almonds. She was clutching a copy of Romeo and Juliet, our course book, and a light purple folder to her chest like a lifeline, and I could see the bones of her knuckles, pressing white against creamy skin.

"Katie here is my niece, and I want you all to make her feel very welcome." Mr. Banner said, the look in his eyes portraying a very clear warning. 

Hello." Katie said, her British accent thick and immediately recognisable. My attention was piqued, and I watched as she shuffled her grip slightly so her right hand could brush across her pocket. 

"Why don't you go sit down next to... Bella," Mr. Banner said, pointing to me after scanning the room for an empty space, finding the one where Angela, who was running uncharacteristically late, usually sat in.

Katie walked over to me and perched down on the edge of the seat, as if trying to sit as far away from me as she could. She placed the course-book and her folder carefully on the desk and produced a very traditional looking ballpoint pen. My suspicion further piqued, I purposefully nudged my sheet of Arithmancy equations into her line of sight. Her blue eyes flicked towards the movement, glancing at the page, before turning back to the front of the classroom, only for her to basically spin around in her seat as her brain processed what she'd just read.

"Muggleborn?" I ask, quiet enough that no one else can hear us- including Mr. Banner, who's started his lecture.

"Halfblood." She replied, carefully looking away from me, up at the front of the classroom. "My father's a muggle. You?"

"Muggleborn. I don't remember seeing you at Hogwarts."

"I didn't go," Katie said quietly, "not until I had to."

"A new law?" I ask, troubled.

"Yes," she nods, shivering slightly. "It's... it's awful there."

Turning to look at her better, I take in just how thin and tired she looks. "What have they done to Hogwarts?" I whisper, horrified.

"The Carrows are... monsters." Katie whispers back, looking like she has to fight the reflex to look around, scan her surroundings incase the Carrows might have heard her. She runs her fingers over her collarbone, and I look closer and bite back a shocked gasp seeing the faint scar. 

"They did that to you?"

"They don't like halfbloods," Katie said, miserably. "Especially halfbloods with 'muggle scum' as a father, and a halfblood mother who married the 'muggle scum'."

Looking back to the front of the classroom, I realize that Mr. Banner has noticed our conversation, but hasn't called us out on it.

"Is Mr. Banner really your uncle?" I ask.

"No, he's a family friend," Katie admitted, "he went to university with my dad in England before moving here after marrying. Forks is so... completely middle-of-bloody-nowhere they thought it would be an ideal place to stash me. Mum and dad were supposed to come too, but mum has to attend a Ministry hearing, and dad won't leave England without mum." Katie takes a shuddering breath, and I curse myself, realising that I'd just thoughtlessly brought up her 'Luna', so to speak, in the middle of class, and if she broke down in front of the class it would be my fault. 

"That was one of my reason for moving to Forks too," I say, mind spinning, "I don't think this place is even on most maps- it really is a small world, isn't it?" Katie gives another weak smile and I drop my fake casual tone. "Need me to make a scene so you can make a speedy get away?" I ask her, under my breath. "I could fake a seizure or a stroke- picturing Snape smiling would do the trick."

Katie badly muffles her surprised laugh, but Mr. Banner is still playing at being both selectively blind and deaf, and pretends not to notice. 

"Thank you for the offer, but... I think I'll be okay." Katie says, with a sweet, small but genuine smile. I smile back, happy to see that she's relaxed. 

"I think you'll be okay too." I tell her, and her sweet smile widens slightly. 

"Miss Weber, good to see you made it, and on time too!" Hearing Angela's name, I turn to the doorway of the classroom, where Angela is standing, looking cheerful. Mr. Banner's sarcasm washes straight over my easy-going friend.

"I've got a late slip, sir," she says, "Isaac and Isaiah decided to... well, let's just say a SWAT team would have probably run away from our house after they were through with it this morning."

"As interesting as that sounds, Miss Weber, you should go sit down." An amused Mr. Banner says. Angela smiles at turns to go walk over to me, only to pause, seeing Katie in her usual spot, and moving to find a new one.

Math passes quickly. Being the studious Ravenclaw I am, and I say that with only a slight trace of sarcasm, I'm quick to finish the set work, and return to my Arithmancy equation, working on it for a solid fifteen minutes before class ends.

"Do you want me to show you around?" I offer Katie, who gives me a grateful smile as she spots Tyler approaching.

"Merlin, yes!"

I laugh and hook my arm around hers, steering her towards Angela, who's waiting by the doorway. "Angie, this is Katie the new girl. Katie, this is Angela." I introduce.

"Call me Angie," Angela says, with a warm smile.

"Hi Angie," Katie says, her grip tightening convulsively on her folder through her nerves.

It's not until we reach the cafeteria that I get a chance to tell Angela that Katie's a witch.

"Really?" Angela says, surprised, while Katie looks at me horrified. "Small world!"

"That's what I said," I say, at the same time as Katie frantically whispers,

"You just broke the International Statute of Secrecy!"

"Oh, my mom's a squib," Angela reassures Katie with a warm smile, "her whole side of the family is magical, going back nearly five hundred years."

Katie looks less worried, though she's still anxious. Movement in my peripheral vision has me forcibly reminding myself why cursing muggles is very, very wrong, even when it seems, in the moment, to be very, very,  _very_  right. "Incoming," I warn, and Angela groans quietly.

"Please don't react-" she starts to urge me, before falling silent, a plastic smile slipping into place as Lauren and Jessica stop in front of us, in front of our table.

"So you're Katie, Mr. Banner's niece," Lauren smiles an utterly fake smile.

"I am," Katie says, cautiously, her hand brushing against her pocket again, the pocket where I'm certain her wand is, reacting unconsciously to the suddenly tense environment.

"Well I'm Lauren, and this is Jessica," Lauren waves her hand imperiously in Jessica's direction and I can't help but think that Lauren could give a good handful of Slytherin Purebloods a thing or two about acting like stuck-up prats.

Lauren had ignored me when I'd first arrived at Forks, while Jessica had briefly played at being my friend when I first arrived before losing interest, and I was perfectly happy to have nothing to do with them. And then Edward happened. And when I returned to school without him, Lauren had started... it wasn't quite  _bullying_ , but if I didn't have the inner confidence that came with my magic, my knowledge of the people who loved me and damn bigger things to worry about then a high school girl with a complex, her snide comments and largely successful attempts at isolating me from my peers would have been... emotionally debilitating, to say the least. 

I was lucky. 

But that didn't stop me from remembering the times I wasn't, the times before Hogwarts, when I was small, alone and defenceless; completely at the mercy of my merciless peers. 

I didn't forget, and when it came to Lauren I chose not to forgive. She couldn't break me, couldn't even  _bend_  me, and it drove her crazy. I didn't even bother hiding how much I enjoyed that from her, and that just made her angrier, and more determined to find a hole in my 'armour'. If I were her, I wouldn't be holding out hope any time soon. 

"Is there a reason you've decided to grace us with your company, Lauren?" I ask her, sweetly.

"Just saying hello to the new girl," Lauren smiled back at me, just as sweetly. "Is there a problem with that,  _Isabella_?"

"Not at all. And speaking of new things, your new hairstyle is certainly... interesting." Her hairstyle actually was new- if it wasn't for the upturned nose, holier then thou look and faithful lapdog Jessica, I might not have recognized her. She'd cut off all her blond, corn-silk hair, and now had a pixie cut so short that the back was shaved like a boy. "What happened?" I continued, still syrupy sweet, "did you get gum in it? Did you sell it? Did all the people you are habitually nasty to catch you behind the gym and scalp you?"

Katie tries to hide her surprised laugh behind a cough- and fails, for the second time today- while Angela tries to look at me sternly, her face giving away her amusement. Lauren, on the other hand, is seething and doing nothing to hide the hate in the sharp smile she sends me.

"I thought I'd try something new- it's the latest trend in LA. Not that you'd know that, of course, seeing as you don't mean enough to anyone who lives there for them to want to speak to you- or even give you their number, email or new address before their whole family moves there."  

It's not the most elegant of verbal attacks,  _certainly_  nothing that would get her anywhere in Slytherin, but I'm not expecting it, and I'm not prepared for the verbal blow. 

_Oh_ , I think, actually stunned silent. My chest aches, and I have to wrap my left arm around it, almost as if I'm literally trying to hold myself together, and I feel both hot and cold all over- Lauren had never dared go that far before, never dared to bring up  _him_. 

"That was way out of line, Lauren!" I think I hear Angela say, and I realize that my hair is moving slightly, my magic crackling around me as my fury and misery mount. I stand up, sending my chair clattering, pulling the attention of the majority of the cafeteria towards me.

"Fuck you, Lauren!" I spit, before turning and storming out.

I make it to my truck, and then make it out of the parking lot, nearly a whole five hundred meters away from the school, before the tears start.

Edward's absence was a wound to my heart that I pretended the best that I could was scabbed, or at least that the blood flow was slowing. It wasn't. It never would. There were two people on this sad, sorry planet who owned my heart, and both of them had been ripped from me- one of them was taken forcefully, and the other had left. 

I wasn't sure which one hurt more- Luna, who had been kidnapped; or Edward, who had disappeared by choice. 

The stab to my heart was as raw and gaping as it had been since the tinny radio voice had announced Xenophilius Lovegood's daughter had been taken from the Hogwarts Express by Death Eaters, and the vampire I loved stood before me and told me that he was disappearing from my life forever. 

_I love you Bella. I love you so much. I'm doing this because I love you._

The words ran through my head, lacking the perfect clarity of my hallucination at The Rook and in the meadow (our meadow). They were just words, soundless, like print on a page. Just words, but they ripped through the already open wound in my chest and crushed my heart, and I had to stomp on the brake, knowing I should not drive while this incapacitated.

I curled over, pressing my face against the steering wheel and trying to breathe without lungs. When that didn't work, I thumped my head against the steering wheel, trying to distract myself from the sharper pain.

Anger and misery fought inside me, and I couldn't help but lash out at my memory of the last time I saw him. He left me because he thought he wasn't  _safe_? He asked me not to be fucking  _reckless_?

I was in the middle of a goddamn war! I was the equivalent to a Jew in Germany during World War II! I was the furthest  _fucking_  thing from safe!

Except right now, in a way, I  _was_  safe, because while I stayed in this Merlin-damned town, in the middle of bloody nowhere and separated from the two people I loved more then anything else in this world, I was technically and  _disgustingly_  "safe", at least in the way that a mouse hiding from a cat in a hole in the wall was safe; sure the cat couldn't get the mouse, but the mouse couldn't leave the hole, and while the cat waited the mouse would eventually have to leave its hole- maybe for food, maybe for water, or maybe because it just couldn't see the point in living if all that life was going to be was being stuck in that goddamn hole. 

I wasn't at that point, not yet, but something about my life in Forks had to change. I  _needed_  it to change, or that cat would start looking like a better, more tempting prospect then it already did. 

Eventually the pain numbed and my breath started to come easier. I was able to lean back against the seat and although it was cold today, my forehead was damp with sweat. There's an ache in my fingers when I finally unfurl them from gripping the Chevy's steering wheel. I flex my hands for a few moments, getting the blood flowing in the digits once more. It's a minor issue, nothing compared to the pounding in my temples, the tightness in my chest. 

I wasn't even sure where the hell I was and I stared blindly out the windshield at the rain and then abruptly cut the engine, which was groaning in a pitiful way after idling for so long. My hands were still shaking and my legs felt wobbly as I opened the door and stepped out into the drizzle.

The cold rain dripped through my hair and then trickled across my cheeks, like freshwater tears. It sort of helped in clearing my head and I blinked the water from my eyes, sweeping my gaze along the road.

After a minute of looking around, I finally recognised where I was. I'd parked in the middle of the north lane of Russell Avenue. I was standing in front of the Cheneys' house-my truck was blocking their driveway-and across the road lived the Marks's. 

I knew I needed to move my truck, and that I needed to either go back to school or go back home. It was wrong to wander the way I had, distracted and impaired- a danger to the roads of Forks. Besides, someone would notice me soon enough and report me to Charlie, seeing as I was currently wagging. He wouldn't care that I was skipping school, of course, but he would worry and I didn't want that. I'd caused him enough stress. 

As I took a deep breath in preparation to move, a sign in the Marks's' yard caught my eye- it was just a big piece of cardboard leaning against their mailbox post, with black letters scrawled in caps across it.

Sometimes, fate happens.

Was it a coincidence? Or was it meant to be? I didn't know, but it seemed kind of silly to think that it was somehow fated, that the dilapidated motorcycles rusting in the Marks's' front yard beside the hand-printed ' _FOR SALE, AS IS'_  sign was serving some higher purpose by existing there, right where I needed them to be.

So maybe it wasn't fate. Maybe there were just all kinds of ways to skirt the line of  _safe_ and _not-safe_ in Forks, and I only now had my eyes open to them.

_Reckless_  and  _Stupid_.

Those were two of Charlie's favorite words to apply to motorcycles.

_Dangerous_ , was another favourite. 

So was  _Not Safe_. 

In this moment, though, I, however, had a word choice of my own-  _Perfect_.

 


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER ELEVEN:**   
  


_Each wizarding governing body will be responsible for the concealment, care and control of all magical beasts, beings, and spirits dwelling within its territory's borders. Should any such creature cause harm to, or draw the notice of, the Muggle community, that nation's wizarding governing body will be subject to discipline by the International Confederation of Wizards._

-Clause 73, International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy.

-

- 

It had been much simpler then I thought it would be- I didn't even need to use magic. 

All I'd had to do was knock and ask how much he- the oldest Marks boy, the one who had graduated high school- wanted for the bikes. Turns out they were complete pieces of crap that didn't work and hadn't for years, and forget-his-name had offered to let me take them both free of charge.

I had, of course, had no problem accepting the offer, seeing as I was both  mostly broke and still remembered from what seemed like an eon ago who had fixed up my truck. 

I was going to go pay Jacob Black a visit.

I wrote Charlie a note, which was the cowardly thing to do, but there was a reason I wasn't in Gryffindor and I planned on putting off the inevitable argument for as long as I could, having remembered, belatedly, that I was technically still grounded. So cowardly note now sitting on the kitchen table, O drove to about halfway to the reservation where I pulled out my battered copy of ' _Hogwarts: A History'_  to pass time until school ended.

At nearly four o'clock I drove down to the reservation. The Blacks' house was vaguely familiar, a small wooden place with narrow windows, the dull red paint making it resemble a tiny barn. Jacob's head peered out of the window before I could even get out of the truck- no doubt the familiar roar of the engine had tipped him off to my approach. 

He met me halfway to the house.

"Bella?" He asked, seeming almost wary. 

"Jacob?" I asked, hesitantly. "Is something wrong?"

"No..." his voice trailed off, and he shook his head slightly before smiling, a genuine smile that alleviated my worries.

"You cut your hair!" I realised, and the smile widened to a grin.

"Come inside! You're getting all wet."

"I better not- I don't want Billy seeing me," I admitted. He looked at me confused. "I'm grounded. And I skipped school today." I elaborated. Jacob laughed.

"Okay, how about we go to the garage then?"

"Sounds great." I smile.

A thick stand of trees and shrubbery concealed his garage from the house. The garage was no more than a couple of big preformed sheds that had been bolted together with their interior walls knocked out.

Under this shelter, raised on cinder blocks, was what looked to me like a completed automobile. I recognized the symbol on the grille, at least.

"What kind of Volkswagen is that?" I asked.

"It's an old Rabbit-1986, a classic."

"How's it going?"

"Almost finished," he said cheerfully. I decided this was the perfect segue.

"Jacob, what do you know about motorcycles?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Some. My friend Embry has a dirt bike. We work on it together sometimes. Why?"

"Well..." I pursed my lips as I considered. I wasn't sure if he could keep his mouth shut, but I didn't have many other options. "I recently acquired a couple of bikes, and they're not in the greatest condition. I wonder if you could get them running?"

"Cool." He seemed truly pleased by the challenge. His face glowed. "I'll give it a try." I held up one finger in warning.

"The thing is," I warn him, "Charlie doesn't approve of motorcycles-" honestly, he'd probably bust a vein in his forehead if he knew about this- "so you can't tell Billy."

"Sure, sure." Jacob smiled. "I understand.""

"I'll pay you," I continued.

This offended him. Typical male. "No. I want to help. You can't pay me."

"Well... how about a trade, then?" I was making this up as I went, but it seemed reasonable enough. "I only need one bike- and I'll need lessons, too. So how about this? I'll give you the other bike, and then you can teach me."

"Swee-eet." He made the word into two syllables.

"Wait- are you legal yet? When's your birthday?"

"You missed it," he teased, narrowing his eyes in mock resentment. "I'm sixteen."

"Not that your age ever stopped you before," I rolled my eyes good-naturedly. "Sorry about your birthday."

"Don't worry about it. I missed yours. What are you, forty?" 

I sniffed. "Seventeen, thank you very much."

"We'll have a joint party to make up for it."

"Sounds like a date." His eyes sparkled at the word. Whoops- I needed to reign in that enthusiasm before I gave him the wrong idea.

"Maybe when the bikes are finished-our present to ourselves," I added.

"Deal. When will you bring them down?" I bit my lip, embarrassed.

"They're in my truck now," I admitted sheepishly.

"Great!" To my relief he seemed to mean it.

"Will Billy see if we bring them around?" I wondered and he winked at me.

"We'll be sneaky."

We were. We eased around from the east, sticking to the trees when we were in view of the windows, affecting a casual-looking stroll, just in case. Jacob unloaded the bikes swiftly from the truck bed, wheeling them one by one into the shrubbery where I hid. It looked too easy for him- I'd remembered the bikes being much, much heavier than that.

"These aren't half bad," Jacob appraised as we pushed them through the cover of the trees. "This one here will actually be worth something when I'm done- it's an old Harley Sprint."

A what?

"That one's yours, then." I said, instantly.

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"These are going to take some cash, though," he said, frowning down at the blackened metal. "We'll have to save up for parts first."

" _We_  nothing," I disagreed, strongly. "If you're doing this for free, I'll pay for the parts."

"I don't know..." he muttered.

"I've got some money saved. Er, college fund, you know." I lied. In truth, I didn't even have a college fund- there wasn't really a 'college' in the wizarding world; you either entered an apprenticeship or got a job at the Ministry. But I was sure that with a mix of magic and creativity I'd be able to figure a way out a way to fund my little misadventure here. 

Either way, Jacob didn't need to know any of that, and the boy nodded along like there was nothing wrong with what I'd just said, and it all made perfect sense to him. As we skulked back to the makeshift garage, I contemplated my luck- only a teenage boy would agree to this; deceiving both our parents while repairing dangerous vehicles supposedly using money meant for my college education. He didn't see anything wrong with that picture. Jacob was a gift from Circe herself. 

"I just need to call someone," Jacob said, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, uh, I'll just be a moment."

I frowned but didn't say anything, feeling an odd sense of déjà vu trickling in my gut.

I pulled out my own phone to distract myself, as Jacob moved out of the shed, and winced seeing the worried texts and missed calls from Angela, as well as several from Charlie. Merlin, I was going to be in  _so_  much trouble. I'd probably be grounded until I turned eighteen.

I was concentrating so hard on my dismal and depressing immediate future that I didn't notice Jacob was back until I heard his breathing. I turned around, stashing my phone back in my pocket, only to freeze.

Jacob wasn't alone.

"Can I ask who this lot is?" I said, slowly.

This 'lot' was a collection of short-haired, tall- and by tall, I meant over six and a half feet, all of them- and muscular looking boys. Or men, really, as they all looked to be in their early twenties. They all had a certain amount of presence about them, too, and only the oldest looking of the bunch was actually inside the garage, the others unable to actually fit. 

"Bella, this is Sam, Paul, Jared, Embry and Quil." Jacob introduced them, one-by-one. I nodded cautiously to each of them, my right hand moving to my pocket, my fingers curling around the handle of my wand. It warmed comfortingly in my grasp.

I remember what Billy told me, what seems like forever ago.

_"There are many legends about where the Quileutes come from. One such legend tells us that we are descended from wolves. And it is correct- that is the true story of our origin."_

I'd already guessed that the wisakachek I'd met in the meadow were Quileute.

It looked like I'd just found out who exactly they were.

Well, that was one mystery solved. 

"It's great to see you guys again," I can't resist teasing them and smile brightly, truly unable to help myself. Quil makes a funny choked noise, and I try not to laugh at the range of expressions that cross their faces, ranging from shocked to wary.

"Again?" The one Jacob introduced as Sam asks in a deep voice.

"Well, yeah- we met in the forest the other day. I hope I'm not that insignificant that you lot forgot about me already." 

"You admit to knowing what we are? To killing the leech?" Sam questioned, looking solemn and grave. I immediately stiffened, jaw tensing and grip around my wand tightening. 

"I would prefer it if you didn't use that word." I say quietly, and I'm surprised by how icy cold my voice sounds.

"Which word? Leech?" Challenges the one introduced as Paul.

"No, I couldn't care less what you call the vampire," I give him a dark look that clearly asks if he's an idiot. "I'd just prefer if you avoided the word 'kill'. I... destroyed him. Or put him down, like the sick little puppy he was. I didn't  _kill_  him."

"What is the power you have?" Sam asks, appearing to have no interest in my wish to avoid using the K-I-L-L word. "Our legends speak nothing of what you are- you say you are not a danger, how can we believe you? How did you even know what we are?"

"To make a long story short, I'm a witch," I say, simply. There was no point in trying to hide the truth, not after what they'd seen me do. "The good kind," I add, after a moment's thought, "not the evil kind. And no, your legends wouldn't have any mention of us, not with the International Statute of Secrecy, and all that. I actually learnt about you in my DADA and Care of Magical Creatures classes."

"Care of Magical Creatures?" Embry sounds indignant. Sam, however, appears more interested in my use of the word 'school'.

"School? There is a school for your kind?" he demands.

"This world is so much bigger and scarier then you could ever imagine," I say, channeling Buffy the Vampire Slayer and finding a wicked sort of amusement in it. "Witches and wizards have our own governments, schools, towns," I pull my wand out of my pocket, ignoring the wary looks it gathers, point it at Jacob's car. " _Wingardium Leviosa_!" The car hovers one, two, three feet off the ground, before I lower it back and turn to some sort of wrench. With a flick of my wand the wrench flew from into my hand. In amazed disbelief, those in the garage watched as the wrench became a stuffed toy frog which promptly started tap-dancing across the workbench next to us when I flicked my wand again.

Okay, so I went a little with the stereotype there using a frog plushie. 

The boys (men) all turn to face me, their expressions once again ranging from awe- Embry, Jacob and Quil, to shocked- Jared, and wariness- Sam and Paul.

"How is it that we have no idea of your existence?" Sam asks.

"You mean 'we' as a whole? The prime minister knows, and so do the higher ranking government officials." I say, with a slight shrug. "Or if you're talking about 'we' as more singular, then because there's no reason for you to know. As long as you're not doing anything to endanger the Statute of Secrecy, the Ministries will leave you alone."

"What is this 'Statute of Secrecy' you keep mentioning?" Demands Paul.

"The International Statute of Secrecy is the agreement all the Ministries made to stay hidden from the non-magical world." I say, tiredly. All this explaining is getting real old, real fast. Sam opens his mouth to ask yet another question and my rapidly waning patience  _snaps_.

"Stop with the twenty questions already! You don't see me demanding to know everything about you, now, do you?" I demand, a wave of heated anger rushing through me, setting my temper blazing. "I am under a  _shit-load_  of stress right now, due to a massively powerful evil megalomaniac who has currently taken over wizarding Britain and all its occupants and wants to wipe out all of us who weren't born to wizarding parents, my best friend has been kidnapped by these evil bastards and I don't know whether she's alive or dead, I had to  _kill_  two  _human beings_  who were evil murdering bastards, but still human, and the man I love left me because he thought he wasn't safe! How the sodding hell am I safe now? I almost died two weeks ago! I almost died in that bloody meadow too!"

I realize, belatedly, that screaming at the shape-shifters everything currently wrong with my life isn't exactly productive towards cultivating good relationships between us, but I really can't bring myself to care.

"I'm leaving," I say, with a loud exhale, "don't follow me or I'll turn you into toads too."

They very wisely don't try to stop me as I walk over to my truck, ignoring Billy, who has wheeled himself out into the yard, and has obviously heard every single word I was yelling. I jump inside, lock the doors, gun the engine, and drive out of the reservation as fast as my not-very-fast truck can possibly go.

 


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER TWELVE:**   
  


_"In our latest news for those out of touch and on the run, our popular feature, Pals of Potter, our usual update on the friends of Harry Potter."_

_"We have heard within the last few hours, that Rubeus Hagrid, well known gamekeeper at Hogwarts School, has narrowly escaped arrestment in the grounds of Hogwarts, where he has rumoured to have hosted a Support Harry Potter Party, in his house!"_

_"However, Hagrid was not taken into custody, and is, we believe, on the run."_

_"I suppose having a 16-foot high half-brother helps when you're escaping Death Eaters!"_

_"It would give you an edge. But, while we here at Potterwatch applaud Hagrid's spirit, we would urge against following Hagrid's lead. Support Harry Potter parties are unwise in the present climate."_

_"Especially with all we've heard about the Ministry running these Snatcher squads."_

_"Yes, for all those who haven't heard, the Ministry has licensed so called "Snatchers" to hunt down and bring in anyone who is deemed to be 'Undesirable'."_

_"Well, that wouldn't be us then, would it? I mean, we've both had loads of girlfriends."_

_"It must be those cute little cheeks and whiskers, Rodent."_

_"To all those who find themselves being unjustly labeled 'Undesirable', we here at Potterwatch salute you! And to all those people who really are Undesirable-"_

_*Cough* Snape! *Cough* *Cough* Malfoy!_

_"Your time will come!"_

-

-

"Bella, I don't know how to deal with this!"

I watch as Charlie paces back and forth, slouching back into the couch, tiredly. Today has been an emotional rollercoaster, and all I want to do right now is curl up under my duvet and cry, eat chocolate and read. Possibly listen to Potterwatch too.

Instead, I'm sitting here while Charlie scolds me for ditching school and falling "off the grid" for several hours. And by several hours, I mean nearly seven.

"I went around to La Push, dad," I interrupt, "you can ask Billy, he saw me. I needed to get away from everything. I can't deal with this- this house arrest!"

"You were at La Push?"

I blink, slightly surprised by the abrupt turn-around. Charlie suddenly looks a lot less angry and despairing, and a lot more curious.

"Yeah, I visited Jacob."

Charlie looks at me considering, before nodding. "Okay. Since this house arrest isn't working, how about we try something new. You promise to tell me and the front desk if you can't manage school for the day instead of just leaving, I'll make sure Shelley knows you're allowed to leave so long as I'm notified, and you always need to be home by seven unless we've planned beforehand for you to stay later."

"Deal." I say, instantly, too happy about my punishment being over to care about the reasons behind Charlie's sudden change of heart.

-

"You are in big trouble Isabella Marie Swan!"

I wince. Damn.

"I'm sorry Ang-"

"Sorry doesn't cut it! Do you know how worried I've been?" Angela scolds me and I wince again. Katie is watching us, looking far too amused. I poke my tongue out at her, and she starts giggling.

"I'm so, so, so sorry!" I plead, holding my hands out in the universal surrender gesture. "I'll never do it again, I promise!"

"Never do what?" Angela says, sternly.

"Never drop off the grid?" I half say, half ask, not sure whether it's the answer she's looking for. She arches an eyebrow.

"Are you asking me, or telling me?"

"Telling you." I say hastily.

"Good girl." Angela reaches over and pats the top of my head. I roll my eyes at her.

"Oh, very funny," I grumble.

As the nasal sound of the bell rings through the corridors, I part ways with Angela and Katie, who both have photography, instead heading to my most loathed subject- Biology.

My day passes slowly, and I only see Angela and Katie briefly at lunchtime. Friday night then drags on just as slowly as the day, what with cooking and getting as much homework done as possible so I don't have to do as much over the weekend.

It's not until Saturday that I actually get to do anything fun( _not-safe_ ).

When I come down for breakfast, Charlie is cheerful looking, almost humming as he ate his cereal. I eyed him cautiously.

"What have you done?" I ask.

"Nothing," he says, a self-congratulatory smile on his face. I eye him skeptically and he grins. "Nothing you need to worry about." He amends. I groan.

"Keep a girl in suspense, why don't you?"

"What are you up to today?" he asked, redirecting my attention. I tried not to look guilty as I thought about the motorcycles.

"I'm going to hang out with Jacob again." 

He nodded without looking up. "Okay," he said.

"Do you mind?" I pretended to worry. "I could stay..." He glanced up quickly, a hint of panic in his eyes.

"No, no! You go ahead. Harry was going to come up to watch the game with me anyway-" I laughed and he groaned. "Alright, you got me."

"I did," I agree, before innocently suggesting, "Maybe Harry could give Billy a ride up?"

The fewer witnesses the better.

"That's a great idea." Charlie looked even more excited now. He headed to the phone while I donned my rain jacket.

Outside, the rain came down like water slopped from a bucket. I had to drive more slowly than I wanted to; I could hardly see a car length in front of the truck. But I finally made it through the muddy lanes to Jacob's house. Before I'd killed the engine, the front door opened and Jacob came running out with a huge black umbrella.

He held it over my door while I opened it.

"Charlie called— said you were on your way," Jacob explained with a grin.

Effortlessly, without a conscious command to the muscles around my lips, my answering smile spread across my face. 

"Hi, Jacob."

"Good call on inviting Billy up." He held up his hand for a high five. I had to reach so high to slap his hand that he laughed. I growled.

Harry showed up to get Billy just a few minutes later. Jacob took me on a brief tour of his tiny room while we waited to be unsupervised.

"So where to, Mr. Goodwrench?" I asked as soon as the door closed behind Billy. Jacob pulled a folded paper out of his pocket and smoothed it out.

"We'll start at the dump first, see if we can get lucky. This could get a little expensive," he warned me. "Those bikes are going to need a lot of help before they'll run again." My face didn't look worried enough, so he continued. "I'm talking about maybe more than a hundred dollars here."

I pulled a pile of hundred dollar bills out of my pocket, fanned myself with it, and rolled my eyes at his worries. "We're covered." His eyes bulged.

"Where did you get all that?" he asked.

"It turns out that the money wizards use is worth a lot more in the muggle world, where the gold can be melted down." I admit. 

I'd found three galleons in my trunk and apparated to Port Olympia where it hadn't been too hard to find a pawn shop willing to buy the coins. 

Jacob's eyes just about gleam in excitement. "The magic world has its own currency?" He asks, eagerly. I pull my DA galleon out of the magically expanded pocket of my jacket, where it's sitting snugly beside the snorkcack horn Xeno gave me, which, along with the coin and the gun, I've taken to carrying everywhere, and hand it to him, letting him look it over before returning it, a look of childish excitement on his face.

"There are three different coins- the gold ones are Galleons. There are seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine bronze Knuts to a Sickle."

"Sounds confusing," Jacob says, and I laugh.

"I don't think it's going too cost much anyway, though," I tell him, "as long as it doesn't have an active electric current I can fix things that are broken, so if we manage to locate the parts, I can get them back into good enough condition for us to use."

Jacob looked entranced by the idea. "Wow."

"Wow." I agree.

It was a very strange kind of day. I enjoyed myself- even at the dump, in the slopping rain and ankle-deep mud. Of course, the charms keeping me dry and warm didn't hurt, and Jacob's look of wide-eyed amazement was definitely fun.

It was enjoyable hanging out with Jacob, I decided, because he was a perpetually happy person, and he carried that happiness with him like an aura, sharing it with whoever was near him. Like an earthbound sun, whenever someone was within his gravitational pull, Jacob warmed them. It was natural, a part of who he was.

-

-

The school week passed with me spending every afternoon at Jacob's, helping him rebuild the motorcycles. With the aid of magic, it took nearly no time at all to fix everything, and come Saturday, Jacob predicted we'd be able to ride them for the first time. 

Saturday arrived quicker then I thought it would, and Jacob and I used my truck to transport the bikes to a place where Jacob thought it would be best to ride them, out of sight of any nosy adults.

"Okay, where's your clutch?" Jacob asked, and I pointed to the lever on my left handlebar. Letting go of the grip was a mistake. The heavy bike wobbled underneath me, threatening to knock me sidewise. I grabbed the handle again, trying to hold it straight

"Jake, it won't stay up," I complained.

"It will when you're moving," he promised. "Now where's your brake?"

"Behind my right foot."

"Wrong." He grabbed my right hand and curled my fingers around the lever over the throttle.

"But you said—"

"This is the brake you want. Don't use the back brake now, that's for later, when you know what you're doing."

"That doesn't sound right," I said suspiciously. "Aren't both brakes kind of important?"

"Forget the back brake, okay? Here—" He wrapped his hand around mine and made me squeeze the lever down. "That is how you brake. Don't forget." He squeezed my hand another time.

"Fine," I agreed.

"Throttle?" I twisted the right grip. "Gearshift?" I nudged it with my left calf.

"Very good. I think you've got all the parts down. Now you just have to get it moving."

"Uh-huh," I muttered, afraid to say more. My stomach was contorting strangely and I thought my voice might crack. It took me a moment to realise that I was actually genuinely scared. I tried to tell myself that the fear was pointless. I'd already lived through several of the worst things possible- betrayal, abandonment, loss, murder... In comparison with those, why should anything frighten me now? I should be able to look death in the face and laugh.

My stomach wasn't buying it.

I stared down the long stretch of dirt road, bordered by thick misty green on every side. The road was sandy and damp. Better than mud.

"I want you to hold down the clutch," Jacob instructed.

I wrapped my fingers around the clutch.

"Now this is crucial, Bella," Jacob stressed. "Don't let go of that, okay? I want you to pretend that I've handed you a live grenade. The pin is out and you are holding down the spoon." I squeezed tighter.

"Good. Do you think you can kick-start it?"

"If I move my foot, I will fall over," I told him through gritted teeth, my fingers tight around my live grenade.

"Okay, I'll do it. Don't let go of the clutch." He took a step back, and then suddenly slammed his foot down on the pedal. There was a short ripping noise, and the force of his thrust rocked the bike. I started to fall sideways, but Jake caught the bike before it knocked me to the ground.

"Steady there," he encouraged. "Do you still have the clutch?"

"Yes," I gasped.

"Plant your feet—I'm going to try again." But he put his hand on the back of the seat, too, just to be safe.

It took four more kicks before the ignition caught. I could feel the bike rumbling beneath me like an angry animal. I gripped the clutch until my fingers ached.

"Try out the throttle," he suggested. "Very lightly. And don't let go of the clutch." Hesitantly, I twisted the right handle. Though the movement was tiny, the bike snarled beneath me. It sounded angry and hungry now. Jacob smiled in deep satisfaction.

"Do you remember how to put it into first gear?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Well, go ahead and do it."

"Okay." He waited for a few seconds.

"Left foot," he prompted.

"I know," I said, taking a deep breath.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Jacob asked. "You look scared."

"I'm fine," I snapped. I kicked the gearshift down one notch.

"Very good," he praised me. "Now, very gently, ease up on the clutch." He took a step away from the bike.

"You want me to let go of the grenade?" I asked in disbelief. No wonder he was moving back.

"That's how you move, Bella. Just do it little by little." As I began to loosen my grip and the bike started moving forwards, and faster then I was expecting at that, I was shocked to be interrupted by a voice that did not belong to Jacob.

"This is reckless and childish and idiotic, Bella," the velvet voice fumed.

"What?!" I gasped, and my hand fell off the clutch.

The bike bucked under me, yanking me forward and then collapsing to the ground half on top of me. The growling engine choked to a stop.

"Bella?" Jacob jerked the heavy bike off me with ease. "Are you hurt?"But I wasn't listening.

"I told you so," the perfect voice murmured, crystal clear.

I tried not to smile- without meaning to sound like a mental case, I was pretty sure I'd just found a way to induce my hallucinations.  

The motorcycle was better than I'd dreamed. It had served its original purpose. I'd felt genuine fear, could still feel the adrenaline swelling my veins—I felt damn good.

Merlin, I was pathetic. But racing down the road like that, even just a handful of meters, had been amazing. The feel of the wind in my face, the speed and the freedom... it reminded me of a past life, flying through the thick forest without a road, piggyback—I stopped thinking right there, letting the memory break off in the sudden grief and empty pang of loss and abandonment.

"You still okay?" Jacob checked.

"Yeah." I tried to sound as convincing as before. "Again?"

"Sure," Jacob said, "but, by the way," he added. "I'm going to disconnect your foot brake tonight."

I laughed.

-

-

I must have been overdue for nightmares, because I slept like the damned and ended up waking indecently early the next morning, tears drying on my cheeks and the faces of the dead Death Eaters burnt into the backs of my eyes. 

I could taste blood in my mouth.

Knowing I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep- and knowing better then to even try, I instead dress and do homework until around eight, when I go downstairs to cook breakfast. Charlie arrives downstairs a little after eight thirty, and we eat the bacon and eggs together.

After, I drive over to Angela's, where Mrs. Weber greets me with a smile and a kiss on the cheek.

"Morning, Mrs. Weber," I greet her. 

"Oh Bella," she says fondly, "just call me Mei-Xing,  _qiānjīn_."

"Bella!" Angela says, cheerfully, appearing behind her mother. She squeezes past Mei-Xing and wraps her arms around me, squeezing tight. Behind her, Katie smiles shyly and gives me a quick hug too. "Ready for today?" she asks, eagerly.

We're spending the day together, first the morning in Morte Alley and then the afternoon in Port Angeles shopping- shudder, before finishing the evening with a movie. It's going to be amazing- according to Angela, anyway.

And I actually do have fun.

Morte Alley is as brilliant as I remember, and I order (while Angela and Katie are occupied) another international Portkey which I hide in the bottom of my purse, I buy a pair of jeans and a sweater in Port Angeles, and we watch a sappy romance at the movies.

By the time the movie's finished the sky is dark, and as we're making our way to the car, I spot someone who's eerily familiar.

Try as I might, I know I'll never forget that night, when I made the choice to allow four half-drunk men to do what they wanted to me, to violate me in the worst possible way, rather then use magic and be caught by Snatchers.

None of them had laid a hand on me, with Edward saving me in the nick of time, but I never really got any closure from the trauma of that decision, instead I pushed it as far back from my mind as possible. But now I have the chance.

I can see the moment that he recognizes me, and the leer that crosses his face as his eyes sweep up and down my body makes me feel dirty. Anger twists inside me and, ignoring Angela and Katie behind me, I storm over towards him and do what I planned on doing, all those months ago.

I kicked him in the balls. Hard. He doubles over, letting out a shout of pain.

"Bella!" Angela grabs my arm and drags me away from the shouting man and the small crowd that's gathering. "What the hell was that?" she demands. "Your dad's the police chief!" 

"Remember that time when we were in Port Angeles dress shopping, and I told you I got lost," I breathe heavily through my nose.

"Yes," Angela says, tense and jumpy as she rushes us to the car, checking behind us to see if anyone is trying to come after us. 

"Edward saved me from getting raped." I say, bluntly. "He was one of the men involved."

"Oh," Angela breathes, "oh  _Bella_ ,"

"Yeah," I say, with a grimace, "you could say that was the result of some unresolved issues."

"Just a bit." Katie says, looking on the pale side.

As we reach the car, I feel a smile tug on the corners of my mouth though I hide it from a fussing Angela. 

I'm not helpless anymore, and I refuse to  _ever_  let myself be helpless again.

 


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN:**

 

_"I- I'm supposed to hurt you," Draco whispered and Luna let out a small sigh then closed her eyes. A look of horror and sickness crossed the boy's face, and he shuddered. "Just... just scream. Scream like I'm t-torturing you. Please!"_

_Luna opened her eyes to give him a soft look, then obediently opened her mouth and let a horrific wail of pain escape. Scream after sickening scream that had Draco flinching and cringing, until he couldn't stand it and asked her to stop._

_The blonde girl was panting, her throat dry and pained, but the discomfort was nothing, less then nothing, compared to what the Cruciatus would have been like. She gave Draco a look of gratitude, before shifting back so she was leaning against the wall of the cellar, exhaustion clear on her face, closing her eyes so she didn't have to watch him leave._

-

-

Sunday morning, I cooked a traditional English breakfast for Charlie and I, and we sat down to eat together. 

"So what's your plan for the day?" I asked him, once we'd finished, and Charlie stretched slightly, before patting his stomach and looking thoughtful.

"Well, you know about the bear problem," he said, and I nodded. Yes, I did know about the bear problem- or rather, the not-bear problem; and I knew a considerably larger amount about the not-bear, not-problem then Charlie. "Well, the rangers and I are going out hunting," Charlie said.

My stomach twisted unhappily, and I frowned. "Are you sure it's safe?" I asked him, and he smiled assurignly.

"Don't worry, Bells," he said, "I'll be safe."

"Okay dad," I said, still frowning after him as we parted for the day.

I was supposed to be heading over to Angela's, but first I decided to go visit Jacob, to warn him about the rangers.

The Black's house was dark, no lights in the windows. My fist thudded against the front door; the sound louder then I intended, reverberating through the walls.

"Come in," I heard Billy call after a minute, and a light flicked on.

I twisted the knob; it was unlocked. Billy was leaning around an open doorway just off the little kitchen, a bathrobe around his shoulders, not in his chair yet. When he saw who it was, his eyes widened briefly, and then his face turned stoic.

"Well, good morning, Bella. What are you doing up so early?"

"I needed to talk to Jake—where is he?"

"Um... I don't really know," Billy lied, straight-faced.

"Do you know what Charlie is doing this morning?" I demanded, sick of the stalling.

"Should I?"

"He and half the other men in town are all out in the woods with guns, hunting  _bears_." Billy's expression flickered, and then went blank. "So I'd like to talk to Jake about that, if you don't mind," I continued.

Billy pursed his thick lips for a long moment, before he nodded. "He's in his room. Sleeping."

"Then I'll wake him up," I say.

Jacob's tiny closet of a room was the only door in the yard-long hallway. I didn't bother to knock. Ithrew the door open; it slammed against the wall with a bang.

Jacob was stretched diagonally across the double bed that took up all of his room but a few inches around the edges. Even on a slant, it wasn't long enough; his feet hung off the one end and his head off the other. He was fast asleep, snoring lightly with his mouth hanging open. The sound of the door hadn't even made him twitch.

His face was peaceful with deep sleep, all the angry lines smoothed out. There were circles under his eyes that I hadn't noticed before. Despite his ridiculous size, he looked very young now, and very weary.

I perched down on the bed beside him, and gently shook his shoulder. It took him several minutes to wake up, and the surprise on his face when he saw me was almost comical.

"Bella?" he yawned, pushing himself into a sitting position.

"Hey Jake," I greet him, "we need to talk."

"That sounds... ominous." He said.

"Yes, well, it's important. I get that you wolves have a job to do, but you need to be sighted less, now that Laurent's gone. Today, especially, I have to warn you-"

"About the rangers and the hunters? Don't worry about it. We already know."

"Don't worry about it?" I demanded in disbelief. "Jake, they've got guns! They're setting traps and offering rewards and—"

"We can take care of ourselves," he said. "They're not going to catch anything. They're only making it more difficult—they'll start disappearing soon enough, too."

"Jake!" I hissed, outraged by his cavalier attitude, "Charlie's out there!"

"You don't need to be so stressed out, Bells. We're going to take care of this. And we're keeping a special eye on Charlie and the others—we won't let anything happen to him. Trust me on that."

"That stupid fucking bitch." I mutter. Jacob looks surprised by my use of profanity.

"Who?"

"Have you happened to come across a vampire with red hair?" I ask. Jacob looks surprised, but then he nods; his teeth clenched together, and when he spoke, he spoke through them.

"There were two of them. We thought his mate would want to fight us—in our stories, they usually get pretty pissed off if you kill their mate—but she just keeps running away, and then coming back again. If we could figure out what she was after, it would be easier to take her down. But she makes no sense. She keeps dancing around the edges, like she's testing our defenses, looking for a way in—but in where? Where does she want to go? Sam thinks she's trying to separate us, so she'll have a better chance..."

I interrupt him. "I know what she wants." 

I'm shaking, but it's fury, not fear that's the cause. Victoria was here. Looking for me. Killing strangers in the woods. The woods where Charlie was searching... My stomach lurched sickeningly.

James had used Renee as a weapon against me. Was Victoria going to try and use Charlie?

"Bella! What's wrong?" Jacob demanded.

"Victoria," I hissed through my teeth.

In my head, Edward snarled in fury at the name.

"Who?" Jacob asked.

"She wasn't Laurent's mate," I tell him, speaking through stiff lips. "They were just old friends..."

"How do you know she wasn't his mate?" Jacob pressed.

"Laurent told me James was her mate," I explained, automatically flexing the hand with the scar.

Jacob pulled my face around, holding it steady in his big hand. He stared intently into my eyes. "Did he tell you anything else, Bella? This is important. Do you know what she wants?"

"Of course I know what she wants," I tell him, with a harsh bite of laughter. "She sent me a fucking letter telling me what she wants!"

"What?" Jacob pressed. "What does she want?"

"Jake... she wants me." His eyes flipped wide, then narrowed into slits.

"Why?" he demanded.

"She thinks Edward killed James," I told him, "I mean, I was the one who destroyed him, but for all she knows, I'm a normal human, so she thinks Edward is the one who killed him. A mate for a mate. She wants me dead to make Edward pay."

"This is important," Jacob said, his face all business now. "This is exactly what we needed to know. We've got to tell the others right away." He stood, pulling me to my feet.

"I'm supposed to meet Angela and Katie," I argue weakly.

"You need to talk to the pack first," Jacob shakes his head, and I sigh and nod, letting him grab one of my hands in his and pull me from his room, out of the house, to his truck.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"I'm not sure yet," he admitted. "I'll call a meeting. Hey, wait here for just a minute, okay?" He leaned me against the side of the truck and released my hand.

"Where are you going?"

"I'll be right back," he promised. Then he turned and sprinted through the parking lot, across the road, and into the bordering forest. He flitted into the trees, swift and sleek as a deer.

"Jacob!" I yelled after him, pissed at being abandoned, but he was already gone. "Wanker." I mutter, before sliding into the cab of the truck, buckling myself in.

Jacob didn't take long to return, a sharp rap on the truck's window alerting me to his reappearance. He climbed in, doing up his seatbelt, and I started the motor.

"Where did you go just now?" I asked. He pursed his lips, and said nothing.

"What? Is it a secret?" He frowned. 

"Not really. It's kind of weird, though. I don't want to freak you out."

"I'm sort of used to weird by this point, you know." I told him. "You know I've seen an actual real flying pig?" He blinks at me, looking bewildered, before smiling.

"Okay. See, when we're wolves, we can... hear each other." My eyebrows pulled down in confusion. "Not hear sounds," he went on, "but we can hear... thoughts—each other's anyway—no matter how faraway from each other we are. It really helps when we hunt, but it's a big pain otherwise. It's embarrassing—having no secrets like that. Freaky, eh?"

"Actually, there's a whole branch of magic regarding reading minds." I tell him.

"Huh." He says, "Okay. Well, we're going to meet Sam and the others at Emily's place." He gave me directions and I started the truck and headed back up the road.

"So did you just turn into a wolf now, to talk to Sam?" I asked, curious.

Jacob nodded, seeming embarrassed. "I kept it real short—I tried not to think about you so they wouldn't know what was going on. I was afraid Sam would tell me I couldn't bring you."

"That wouldn't have stopped me."

"Well, it would have stopped me," Jacob said, morose now. "Sam... he's the head of the pack, you know. He's the Alpha. When he tells us to do something, or not to do something—when he really means it, well, we can't just ignore him."

"Annoying," I muttered.

"Very," he agreed. "It's kind of a wolf thing."

"Huh" was the best response I could think of.

"Yeah, there's a load of stuff like that—wolf things. I'm still learning. I can't imagine what it was like for Sam, trying to deal with this alone. It sucks bad enough to go through it with a whole pack for support."

"Sam was alone?"

"Yeah." Jacob's voice lowered. "When I... changed, it was the most... horrible, the most terrifying thing I've ever been through—worse than anything I could have imagined. But I wasn't alone—there were the voices there, in my head, telling me what had happened and what I had to do. That kept me from losing my mind, I think. But Sam..." He shook his head. "Sam had no help." I feel a pang of sympathy.

I drove past the easternmost house on the highway before turning off onto a narrow dirt road.

"Your truck is slow," Jacob noted.

"You're the one who fixed it up." I pointed out. He grinned. At the end of the narrwow lane was a tiny house that had once been gray. There was only one narrow window beside the weathered blue door, but the window box under it was filled with bright orange and yellow marigolds, giving the whole place a cheerful look.

Jacob opened the truck door and inhaled. "Mmm, Emily's cooking."

After opening my door for me, Jacob climbed up the one step and entered the house without knocking. I followed after him.

The front room, like Billy's house, was mostly kitchen. A young woman with satiny copper skin and long, straight, crow-black hair was standing at the counter by the sink, popping big muffins out of a tin and placing them on a paper plate, which she then placed on the table, which the pack was gathered around.

The rest of the pack was already there, and upon hearing us, the beautiful young woman greeted us in a melodic voice, "oh hello." She said, and as she turned to face us, pity flooded me.

The right side of her face was scarred from hairline to chin by three thick, red lines, livid in color though they were long healed. One line pulled down the corner of her dark, almond-shaped right eye, another twisted the right side of her mouth into a permanent grimace.

"What's she doing here?" Paul demanded, and I quickly turned my attention to him.

"Oh," Emily said, surprised. "Who's this?" I looked up, trying to focus on the left half of her face.

"Bella Swan," Jacob told her. Apparently, I'd been a topic of conversation before.

"You're the witch girl." Emily said, and neither half of her once-beautiful face was friendly. I stiffened.

"Yes. Are you the wolf girl?" She laughed, and the left half of her face warmed. 

"I guess I am. Are you you hungry? Go ahead and help yourself to a muffin."

"Thanks." I took one from the plate, not wanting to sound rude, but just twisted it around in my hands, not hungry. 

"So, is there a reason Bella's here?" Sam asked.

"I know what the redhead wants."

"And?" Jared asked. Jacob's face got serious.

"She is trying to avenge her mate—only it wasn't the black-haired leech we killed. Bella got her mate last year, only the redhead thinks that the Cullens killed him, and she's after Bella now."

The wolves and Emily stared at me with open-mouthed surprise.

"She's just a girl," Embry protested.

"I didn't say it made sense. But that's why the bloodsucker's been trying to get past us. She's been heading for Forks."

They continued to stare at me, mouths still hanging open, for a long moment.

"You did see me kill Laurent the other day," I pointed out, "I'm not exactly some helpless little princess." Paul snorted, and Jared spoke up.

"Excellent," he said, a smile beginning to pull up the corners of his mouth. "We've got bait." With stunning speed, Jacob yanked a can opener from the counter and launched it at Jared's head.

Jared's hand flicked up faster than I would have thought possible, and he snagged the tool just before it hit his face.

"Bella is not bait."

"You know what I mean," Jared said, unabashed.

"So we'll be changing oar patterns," Sam said, ignoring their squabble. "We'll try leaving a few holes, and see if she falls for it. We'll have to split up, and I don't like that. But if she's really after Bella, she probably won't try to take advantage of our divided numbers."

"She isn't probably after me," I spoke up, "she is after me. She sent me a fucking letter telling me so."

"Paul, Jared, and Embry will take the outer perimeter, and Jacob, Quil and I will take the inner." Sam said, after a short pause in which they all stared at me, and I held my chin up, staying firm. "We'll collapse in when we've got her trapped."

Jacob caught my eye. "I think it would be best if you spent as much time as possible here in La Push. She won't know where to find you so easily, just in case."

"I can defend myself," I said, annoyed, "I'm not helpless- it's Charlie I'm worried about."

"March Madness is still going," Jacob said. "I think Billy and Harry can manage to keep Charlie down here when he's not at work.""

"Food's ready," Emily announced then, and the strategic conversation was history. The guys hurried to surround the table—which looked tiny and in danger of being crushed by them—and devoured the buffet-sized pan of eggs Emily placed in their midst in record time. Emily ate leaning against the counter like me—avoiding the bedlam at the table—and watched them with affectionate eyes. Her expression clearly stated that this was her family.

I spent the day in La Push, the majority of it in Billy's house. He left a message on Charlie's phone, and Charlie showed up around dinnertime with two pizzas. It was good he brought two larges; Jacob ate one all by himself.

I saw Charlie eyeing the two of us suspiciously all night, especially the much-changed Jacob. He asked about the hair; Jacob shrugged and told him it was just more convenient.

I knew that as soon as Charlie and I were headed home, Jacob would take off—off to run around as a wolf, as he had done intermittently through the entire day. He and his brothers of sorts kept up a constant watch, looking for some sign of Victoria's return. But since they'd chased her away from the hot springs last night—chased her halfway to Canada, according to Jacob—she'd yet to make another foray.

I had no hope at all that she might just give up. I didn't have that kind of luck.

 


	14. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN:**   
  


  
_"We now turn to Rita Skeeter's new biography of Albus Dumbledore."_

_"Have_  you  _got a copy ?"_

_"Of course! And I highly recommend it to all our listeners who need something to blow their nose on."_

_"About the only use for it, by all accounts._   _Seriously_   _people, do you_  really  _think Dumbledore would've done the things Skeeter is saying he did? No. So, later in the programme we'll give you some practical uses for Rita's book._

_"Such as wrapping things up, cleaning windows, propping doors, while helping start fires._

_"But in the meantime, here's Rapier with some more survival tips!_

_"Peruvian instant darkness powder- instant darkness! Any time! Anywhere! Simply throw it where you want it to be dark and plunge opponents into an instant night-time, giving you the chance to get away!"_

_"Good luck out there and remember: as long as you have a wireless, you're not alone!"_

_-_

_-_

When the holidays arrived in Forks again, I woke up on Monday morning, with the realization that last holidays I'd been hunted by a vampire, too. I hoped this wasn't some kind of tradition forming.

My life was once again falling into a pattern of things. I spent a majority of my time after school at La Push, as well as Sundays, and Saturdays I spent with Angela and Katie. I listened to Potterwatch every night before I went to bed, I purchased the seventh year course books for all my Hogwarts subjects and I looked into enrolling at Salem Witches Academy. 

While at the reservation, I'd spend my time mostly on the beach, while Charlie hung out with Billy at the Blacks' house. I was supposed to be with Jacob, but Jacob had other things to do, so I studied my course-books and practiced more advanced magic alone, keeping the secret from Charlie.

When Jacob dropped in to check on me, he apologized for ditching me so much. He told me his schedule wasn't always this crazy, but until Victoria was stopped, the wolves were on red alert.

When we walked along the beach now, he always held my hand.

I supposed that a romantic relationship was exactly what our friendship looked like from the outside. As long as Jake and I knew how it really was, I shouldn't let those kinds of assumptions bother me. And maybe they wouldn't, if I hadn't known that Jacob would have loved for things to be what they appeared. But his hand felt nice as it warmed mine, and I didn't protest.

Jacob dropped me off at school on Tuesday—he followed me on his bike to make sure I arrived safely, despite my protests to the contrary—and Mike noticed.

"Are you dating that kid from La Push? The sophomore?" He asked, poorly disguising the resentment in his tone.

I shrugged. "Not in the technical sense of the word. I do spent most of my time with Jacob, though. He's my one of my best friends."

Mike's eyes narrowed shrewdly. "Don't kid yourself, Bella. The guy's head over heels for you." I shudder, and could easily imagine the horrified look on my face. No, just  _no_ \- Jacob was my  _friend_ , and one of my best ones at that,  _not_  a potential love interest. 

"God, life's complicated." I say, mostly to myself, too disturbed to even want to consider that Jacob had those sorts of feelings towards me. Mike was just being ridiculous, I decide- typical teenage boy, unable to consider the concept of boys and girls just being friends, without one of them secretly wanting to bone the other. 

"And girls are cruel," Mike mutters under his breath.

What an arsehole, I think, derisively. 

I took Jacob with me the next time I visited Morte Alley. I let him wander around the stores, wide-eyed and amazed, while I planned my next trip to England. Getting away with being Marie Mason had left me on a high of sorts, and this time I planned on getting more information about Luna, such as where she was being kept. I wouldn't let Xeno get the drop on me again- he had the information I needed, and goddamn, I'd make him give it to me.

It was on the following Wednesday when I went through with my plans. 

The Portkey took me to Diagon Alley. I was once again dressed traditionally in plain black robes, trying to look as insignificant as possible. Diagon Alley looked even worse then it did the last time I was there. The number of homeless people, all bloodied and branded, were almost double in number.

Tom, who was manning the bar in the Leaky Cauldron, looked even worse then he had last time too. The bones in his face were jutting out sharply, and the sight of it made me feel sick. He paid no notice of me whatsoever as I hurried through the Leaky Cauldron, my hands shaking with nerves. 

Instead of risking catching the Knight Bus again, I twist on the spot, apparating to Ottery St. Catchpole. The distance covered in the apparation makes me feel sick, but the memory of my last trip in the purple triple-decker bus is horrifying enough that the sickness is worth it. 

The walk to the Rook takes me a bit over half an hour, and when I see it, my body goes ice cold. 

It's gone. 

Not disappeared, no, it looks like someone set of a bomb in it, leaving nothing but rubble and chunks of wall and roof. The garden is burnt, the plants blackened, and I grab my chest, clawing at the skin over my heart with my nails.  

I sank down right where I was, kneeling there, beginning to gasp. My body convulsed with useless heaves, my empty stomach contracting with horrified nausea, though there was nothing in it to expel.

The pain was... indescribable, like there was an abyss I was plunging into now. I was fracturing into pieces and I had to curl into a ball to keep the empty hole in my chest which had ripped open with all the delicacy of a troll, from tearing me apart. My head swirled dizzily.

I wanted to go, to get out of here, to get as far away from here as possible. I was trying to find the strength to get to my feet again, forcing myself out of the ball so that I could escape. There was too much pain in this empty place to bear—I would crawl away if I had to.

"Freeze!" A voice shouted suddenly, and I looked up through my tears to see two men in black robes and white skull-masks. 

Death Eaters. 

I tried to bring myself to care, but in that instant I couldn't. "Drop your wand!" ordered the larger of the Death Eaters, and I considered doing what he'd asked. "Drop your wand and get to your feet!" shouted the Death Eater, when I didn't make a move. 

I forced myself to listen, to obey, letting my wand fall from my clammy, rubbery fingers to the ground, pulling myself to my feet, cradling my chest. 

"Who are you?" Demanded the Death Eater.

"What happened t-to there?" I asked, bleakly, pointing to the house.

"Potter was spotted here," one of the Death Eaters said, and I gasped, hands flying to my mouth.

"Harry was here?" I breathed. The Death Eater pointed his wand at me, and all of the pain receptors in my body fired at once. I screamed and screamed until the Cruciatus Curse was lifted, and then I panted, curled in a ball on the ground, sobbing. 

"What's your name?" the Death Eater ordered.

"M-Marie," I choked out, through my tears, my whole body trembling fiercely. "Marie Masen." 

"Well, Marie Masen," the larger Death Eater said, "you're under arrest for conspiring with Undesirables." 

I moved as quickly as I could, pulling my Portkey from my pocket with fingers that were stiff and shaking, but a flick of the smaller Death Eater's wand had my Portkey flying from my hands, into his. Swearing mentally, I went for my wand, and rolling at the same time. The Death Eater's spell hit the ground where my body had been seconds ago, leaving a large scorch mark.

I stumbled to my feet, and held my wand in front of me, in a defensive gesture. "Drop your wand!" Ordered one of the Death Eaters, "or we will kill you!" 

"You'll kill me either way!" I spat through clenched teeth. Not seeing any other option, I prayed that this wouldn't end too badly, and twisted on the spot. 

Long-distance apparation is... well, dangerous to say the least. With a 99% chance of splinching, and a 40% chance of death, it was a real last chance move. 

Destination. Determination. Deliberation.

The sensations of being forcefully sucked through a straw, iron bands tightening around my chest, my eyeballs being forced back into my head and ear-drums being pushed deeper into my skull werepromising, believe it or not; supremely uncomfortable but all the same familiar. 

I held my breath, trying to keep my thoughts together, knowing I had to wait it out. And wait. And wait. And stay focused even though Luna-

My attention snapped, just for a moment, but the results happened faster then I could blink (if my eyes weren't squeezed right shut, that is). My elbow twitched and the 'straw' by my left arm felt like it had suddenly turned from smooth to a cheese grater. My elbow burned as a strip of skin was sliced to ribbons in less than a second, and as my skin was torn off by the friction, I could feel the cold of the void around me soothe the burning for a split-second before blood welled up, making it just feel sticky and wet.

That's when the pain hit in full force.

The first slice was followed by another and another. My clothing tore and blood streaked in rivulets down my shredded robes. The pain built and built.

My mouth opened wide, the muscles drew taut in my neck and my hands balled into fists. My back arched until it felt like I was putting my entire body behind the intent of screaming.

But just like with any Apparition, there was no air to draw breath with, so the scream never came.

More than anything else, that inability to do something as basic and primal as screaming in pain drove down how truly helpless I was. Manically, I flailed my arms and kicked my legs, flinching from every new cut and slice. My body contorted hideously, desperately trying to get away from the torment.

The squeezing just got tighter and tighter as if the straw was shrinking, and I could feel myself being physically forced into a too narrow tube, and  _I didn't fit._

Why hadn't I just apparated back to the Leakey Cauldron? Why had I been so  _goddamn stupid_? 

Except I already knew the answer to that- it was because when I needed to get somewhere safe, in that split second I had to escape, to decide where my  _destination_  would be, the place I associated most with safety was home _._

There was a tearing feeling as my right shoulder dislocated, and the sharp pain when my left clavicle broke came only moments after. Like an egg being squeezed in a fist, I felt like I was literally on the verge of violently imploding. First one rib snapped then another, and had any sound reached my ears the wet snaps alone would have made me retch.

But there was no sound, and other than the pain, of skin shredding and vines breaking, there was nothing else to mark the time I was spending, trapped in this hell.

Why couldn't this just be over? In this moment, I honesty didn't care if I died; it hurt, oh god it  _hurt_ , it wasn't  _stopping_ , the sucking and grating and popping continued on and on and  _on_...

Something in me gave.

When I thought James had Renée, I had obediently walked into the trap, prepared to die, but that entire time I had wanted to live; I had desperately,  _desperately_  wanted to live. But here, in this void, where this awful never-ending pain was all I could feel and think of for the future, where there was no reason or adversary to outwit, I found myself desperately praying for death.

In possibly the most cruel twist of fate imaginable, the moment I truly gave up, I arrived. The bloody mess that was left of me impacted a hard surface with a wet, meaty thud.

While the sound registered in my ears, the bone-jarring impact didn't even rate a raised eyebrow compared to the pain I was already in. Instead, I reflexively tried to finally unleash the scream I had so longed for, the scream that I felt was overwhelmingly due.

Instead of sound, a torrent of bloody chunks exited my mouth and cramps and tremors wracked my body. My muscles clamped so tight that I was unable to even exhale my breath, and was left with my mouth forced open as wide as it could go, muscles corded in my neck and a terror-struck expression on my face.

Vaguely in my peripheral vision I made out trees. I think I'd meant to land at Jacob's front door, but I had no idea where I'd landed.

My eyelids fluttered, the world swimming from red to black to white to color again.

I was dying, and I was dying alone.

"No Bella," a velvety voice whispered, agony dripping from every syllable, "no, you can't die, you have to live!"

_I'm sorry_ , I thought to the voice, to my beautiful, wonderful hallucination, and I closed my eyes.

So I wasn't dying alone- dying with my hallucination was better then dying with no one at all.

_Goodbye, I'm so sorry, I love you_ , was my last thought before, unable to cope with the agony any longer, when I felt unconsciousness beckon I latched onto it with desperation born of terror.

My world went black. I didn't expect to wake up.

But I did.

-

I woke to the sound of my own choked scream. 

Conscious thought was a while in coming but when it finally did return after, an indeterminate amount of minutes, the fact that I cried out so loud that I woke myself out of unconsciousness worried me a great deal.

Then I remembered what happened, remembered the fear and the pain, and I at least felt justified in my behaviour.

I was in a bed. The linens were soft, the sheets slightly coarse wherever it reached my bare skin, which was in odd places on my torso and legs and they smelled familiar...

"Bella? Are you awake?" came a very familiar voice from beside the bed.

Angela.

My throat burned and as I tried to answer all I produced was a croak.

A harsh cough caused my muscles to clench painfully and instead of continuing to attempt to talk I just moaned miserably.

"It would be unwise to speak for the moment," a voice I didn't recognise suggested.

Blinking blearily, I turned my head weakly in order to find the owner of the voice, taking in my surroundings as I did so. I was in a strange bed and dressed in clothes that didn't belong to me (I very astutely surmised that this wasn't the time to make any of the myriad of crude jokes Emmett would be proud of on the tip of my tongue).

I finally located the stranger, the only face in the room I didn't recognise. Angela, of course, was there, and sitting on a camping chair that had been set up beside the bed I was in. Charlie, Mei-Xing, Katie, Yin, Billy and Jacob are all crowded around my bed. The woman was clearly Asian, and most likely related to Mei-Xing and Yin. She was also probably the reason I wasn't dead.

"In fact, I'm sure you would be much better off asleep just now." The woman continued.

Instinctively I shook my head, causing a tearing sensation in the skin of my stiff neck and I let out an unwilling, choked sound of pain. Still, I was adamant I didn't want to immediately go to sleep again.

The woman scowled at me and threw her hands in the air. Muttering something about stubborn idiotic patients with no regard for their health and wellbeing who didn't listen to their healers, she marched away.

I decided to test what in my sore body still worked as everything ached horribly, and while moving was definitely ill advised I'd spotted my wand on the bedside table.

With slightly awkward movements, I hesitantly reached for the bedside table. Fortunately, aside from the full body ache and some protesting muscle cramps I could do so without screaming in agony. My hand closed around my wand, and I instantly felt calmer, and I turned my attention back to those gathered around my bed.

"Croak?" I asked. Angela, Merlin bless her, was the quickest to pick up what I wanted and handed me a cup of water with a straw. Greedily I sucked on it and let the cool water soothe my parched throat.

"Slowly," Angela cautioned me – as if I didn't know that – but I slowed my drinking to a small trickle until she stopped looking like she would take the water away again.

"How... how do you feel?" Angela asked, hesitantly, after I finished inhaling water.

"Like utter crap."

My voice was hoarse and scratchy.

"Well that's to be expected," the stranger approached my bed again, this time with a wand in hand, and clinically and dispassionately started listing a litany of injuries while everyone else- including me- flinched with every new injury listed. "You had eleven broken bones, with four broken multiple times and three pulverised completely. There were a multitude of cuts, with your skin literally flayed off in some places. A collapsed lung and pierced bladder, and your throat was both punctured and collapsed. A great many blood vessels were burst, though fortunately your major organs were all in one piece, aside from some bruising from being tossed around inside your body. Finally, your nervous system looked like someone had set it on fire. The good news is that my sister contacted me in time and I managed to either repair most of it or am currently in the process of doing so. However, there were some side-effects."

I stilled and my eyes widened. It felt like my heart skipped a beat. Panicking, I brought both hands up to my face. My arms were covered in bandages, but I still counted all ten fingers. Frantically I started wiggling my toes. Everything seemed to still work all right... My throat was suddenly parched again, forcing me to swallow. "What kind of side-effects?"

"There was scarring. Severe scarring, if I'm to be blunt. You are whole, with all your extremities intact, but your ordeal has left marks all over your body that are not going to fade."

I choked back a hysterical sob.

"I, um..." To my horror, I noticed that I was breathing so fast that I was on the verge of hyperventilating and I forcibly took control of my lungs in an effort to calm down. In and out. In and out.

It turned out this was the point where the patience of the people waiting at my bedside snapped.

A distant part of me was actually impressed they'd held on so long.

"Bella, what happened?" Demands Charlie, looking sick and pale.

"How did I end up here?" I croak, hoping to delay having to answer him, even just for a few moments.

"Paul found you in the woods outside my house," Jacob explains. His russet skin is paler then I've ever seen it and he looks sick. "You were laying there, and there was so much blood..." Jacob trails off and shudders. "He thought you were..." He doesn't say the word 'dead', but we all know that's what he's refraining himself from saying, from even thinking.

"Jacob contacted Angela, knowing that she could contact a witch or wizard," Mei-Xing said, "and I contacted Yin and Qiang- Qiang's our younger sister, and a trained medi-witch." Mei-Xing gestured at the other woman, and I took the time to really take her in.

Qiang wasn't just beautiful, she was expertly put together; poised and elegant and constructed expertly, from her dark clothing, to her perfectly cut hair, to her nails which were long and painted, despite her occupation as a healer. 

"We both came straight here when we heard." Yin says, face worried and compassionate as he looks over at me.

"Thank you," I tell them, especially Qiang, "for saving my life." Qiang nods at me, while Yin smiles gently.

"Anytime, Bella," he says, looking sincerely happy for me.

"Bella, what in god's name happened!" Angela speaks up, "On top of all- all of  _that_ , 姑妈 (Aunt) said you were exposed to the Cruciatus Curse! The  _Cruciatus Curse_ , Bella!"

I feel my eyes well with tears. "I- Luna's house," I choke out, "it's gone."

"Luna's house- you were in England?" demands Charlie, looking aghast. I start crying.

"It's gone," I sob, "it's all gone!"

"What were you doing in England?" Demands Charlie, again. "Why would you risk that? You almost died, Bella!"

"Because I had to know if Luna was alive! I had to know!" I shout, before cringing into my pillow at the pain this causes in my throat... and pretty much everywhere else.

"What happened, Bella?" Mei-Xing asks, gently.

"I portkeyed to England. I apparated to Luna's house, but it's in ruins. And it turns out Death Eaters were keeping watch over it- apparently Harry was there, recently. They took me by... surprise. They took my Portkey, so I had to apparate to get out of there."

"You apparated across countries?" Everyone magical looks horrified.

"No wonder you were in such bad shape." Noted Qiang. Mei-Xing shoots her a quick glare, before turning back to me.

"That was a very foolish thing to do!" She scolds me.

"I panicked! If I stayed there I was going to be captured, tortured more or killed!" I snap, a rush of anger sweeping over me. "Or, in the likeliest case, all of the above! I panicked and apparated to the first safe place I could think of, just wanting to get the fuck out of fucking Britain!"

I'm crying again, and it's awkward and painful, and I quickly reduce it to wet sniffles, accompanied by a bunch of tears and snot that make a mess out of my face.

"Bella, we're going to talk about you going to Britain later," Charlie says, looking very concerned end serious, but also relieved that I'm in one piece (sort of). "For now, though, just rest and concentrate on healing."

"Can I go home?" I ask, hopefully. Charlie turns to Qiang, who nods.

"She should be fine to go back to your house. Absolutely no strenuous activity of any sort, though."

"Can do," Charlie agrees, and I sigh in relief, happy to be going home.

Walking is exceedingly painful due to the stiffness in my body, but I stubbornly refuse to be carried, far too embarrassed at the thought.

Charlie drives us back to the house, and I lay back quietly in the passenger seat, feigning sleepiness, not at all eager to have the inevitable conversation about my reckless behavior.

Charlie stops his cruiser in front of our dark house, and the headlights wash across the pavement, light the front line of the black forest, and finally glint off a car parked across the street from my house.

My guise of sleepiness vanishes instantly.

I gasp, my heart thudding brokenly in my chest.

It was a black car-a car I knew. I might be the furthest thing from a car enthusiast, but I could tell you everything about that particular car. It was a Mercedes S55 AMG. I knew the horsepower and the color of the interior. I knew the feel of the powerful engine purring through the frame. I knew the rich smell of the leather seats and the way the extra-dark tint made noon look like dusk through those windows.

It was Carlisle's car.

 


	15. Chapter 15

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN:**   
  


_"Draco?" Draco started violently, and spun around to face the prisoner. Thin and ragged, Luna looked awful- her hair hung long, limp, and the bones in her face jutted violently. Dark lavender shadows were evident under her tired eyes, eyes that seemed to glow silvery in the dim light of the cellar_

_"Yeah?" Draco said, gruffly._

_"The Umgubular Slashkilters have been telling me things," she said, looking up at him owlishly, hugging bony knees to her chest._

_"Telling you things?" Draco asked, cautiously._

_"They said..." Luna swallowed dryly, and she looked... frightened. It was one of the first times Draco had seen her looking genuinely scared. "They said my daddy..." Tears welled up in her eyes, a single one tracking its way down her cheek. "They said he's dead."_

_Draco swallowed, looking like he'd rather be anywhere but there in the cellar, looking down at the heartbroken expression of the girl below._

_"I heard... I heard that Potter visited him," Draco said finally, reluctantly. "He alerted the Death Eaters but... Potter and Granger got away. He was killed, not long after."_

_More tears slid down pale cheeks, and Luna gave a gasping sob. "And Bella?" she asked, breathless. "Is she alright?"_

_"I don't know about Swan, but a girl- Marie Mason- visited the next day." Draco said, not questioning how she knew any of this- it wasn't worth questioning, he'd never get any answer that made any kind of sense. "They say she was about sixteen or seventeen. She got away, though."_

_"At least I have that," Luna wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Thank you, Draco."_

_"It's the least I can do," Draco said quietly. "They... they might let you go, now." He blurted out, unable to stop himself._

_"What?" Luna actually looked confused, and Draco noted that it was an expression he'd never seen on her before. The occasional fear he'd seen, yes, but she always looked so calm, so serene- like nothing could ever surprise her._

_"Well- you're a Pureblood," he tried to explain himself, "and- and now you can't be used for blackmail because..." because your father's dead, went unsaid, "because." He finished, lamely._

_"I don't think they're going to let me out, Draco," Luna said, gently, and Draco shifted, uncomfortable, because there was a soft sort of pity in her gaze as she looked at him._

_"But... why?" he asked._

_"You know why," Luna said, voice soft. Draco squeezed his eyes closed against the burning, stinging._

_"I-I've got to go." He said, before spinning around and hurrying out._

_"Goodbye Draco," Luna spoke after him._

-

-

"Is that... is that the Cullens car?" Charlie asked, staring at the Mercedes.

"I think so," my voice was shaking slightly. If the Cullens are back- even if its just one or two of them-something big has happened. Something big and undoubtedly dangerous.

Charlie frowned.

"I'm not sure I really want to see any of them," he grumbled. "Not after what they did to you."

"Just... follow my lead," I tell him. My hands were shaking as I lead the way to the house, a slightly suspicious Charlie following close behind me, obviously ready to catch me if I fall (which with the way my legs were shaking- and not just from the pain- was actually a damn good possibility).

When I grabbed the doorknob to unlock it, it twisted easily under my hand. I let the door fall open and took a step inside. The hallway was black.

I wanted to call out a greeting, but my throat was too dry. I couldn't quite seem to catch my breath.

Charlie flipped the light switch.

Unnaturally still and white with large black eyes intent on my face, my visitor waited perfectly motionless in the center of the halt, beautiful beyond imagining. Her eyes widened in surprise and confusion and no small amount of horror as she looked at me.

My knees trembled for a second, and I fell. She caught me, a second before Charlie grabbed at the empty space I'd been standing a scant moment before. Falling onto her felt like falling into concrete, no matter how she curved her marble body to minimise the pain of impact. Uncaring, I wrapped my aching arms around her and started giving my poor abused tear ducts another work out.

"Alice, oh, Alice!" I slobbered very ungracefully into her no doubt designer shirt that cost more then Charlie earned in a week.

"Bella?" There was a mingling of relief and confusion in her voice, as well as the easily understood horror (I did look like I'd escaped an Ancient Egyptian tomb, after all).

I locked my arms around her as tight as my screaming, abused limbs would let me. Alice dragged me into the living room couch, with Charlie's 'help', and pulled me into her lap. It was like curling up into a cool stone, but a stone that was contoured comfortingly to the shape of my body. She rubbed my back in a gentle rhythm, waiting for me to get control of myself.

"I'm... sorry," I blubbered. "I'm just... so happy... to see you!"

"It's okay, Bella. Everything's okay." She soothed.

"Yes," I sob in agreement (because with her presence, I can pretend for one little moment that it's the actual goddamn honest truth), creating more irreversible stains.

"Bells," Charlie sounded concerned, standing a few steps away, looking over us. I don't miss the warning look he gives Alice, "what's going on Bells? Speak to me, baby,"

"Charlie... I need a few minutes alone with Alice. I'll explain later, but we really need to be alone right now." I tell him, between unattractive sniffles. Charlie hesitates, obviously not happy, but he nods.

Alice waits until he's out of the room before speaking. "Bella," she says, slowly, "what the hell happened to you? Please explain to me how you're still alive!?" I wipe away my tears with the back of my sleeve.

"What did you see?" I ask, taking a guess as to why she'd so suddenly appeared.

"I saw you on the ground- all bleeding and broken. Too injured for you to possibly survive." She says, shuddering. I look down at my hands (my wrapped up mummy hands, covered in bandages with fingers still occasionally twitching).

"I did a bad thing," I admit, "Something really, unspeakably... stupid."

"What did you do, Bella?" she presses, looking like she really doesn't want me to answer her question.

"I... I went to Britain." I say, still not looking up, still not meeting her eyes. She sucks in an unneeded breath, a human reflex of shock she seems to have developed despite her actual lack of need for oxygen.

"Bella!" She exclaims, before groaning, "I told him something like this would happen, but he didn't believe me! 'Bella promised,'" her voice imitated his so perfectly that I froze in shock. "'Don't be looking for her future, either,'" she continued to quote him. '"We've done enough damage'. But just because I'm not looking, doesn't mean I don't see" she went on. "I wasn't keeping tabs on you, I swear, Bella. It's just that I'm already attuned to you... when I saw you in- in all that blood, I didn't think, I just got on a plane. I knew I would be too late, but I couldn't do nothing. And then I get here, thinking maybe I could help Charlie somehow, and you drive up." She shook her head, this time in confusion. Her voice was strained. "I saw you dying. I waited and waited for help to come, but no one did. Your future just disappeared. What happened?"

"Paul found me," I tell her, "he took me to someone with ties to the magical world, and they saved me."

"Is Paul a wizard?" Alice frowns.

"No," I shake my head, and she huffs- frustrated.

"Then there's no plausible reason I didn't see him! Why didn't I see him?"

"He's a shape-shifter," I tell her, "a Quileute shape-shifter. Would that affect your visions?" Alice groans, running her hands through her hair.

"Of course you started hanging out with the dogs," she mourns, "he was a fool to think you could survive alone. I've never seen anyone so prone to life-threatening idiocy!"

"I survived," I point out, my voice turning sharp, and she winces. "And I've survived far worse then a handful of adolescent shape-shifters before you lot came into my life- and then I had to survive you leaving! Do you have any idea what that did to me? It felt like someone ripped my fucking heart out of me- first Luna, then you and Edward and the rest of your family... it's like the world enjoys seeing how much shit they can heap on me before I collapse!"

"Bella-"

"No, Alice!" I interrupt, "you need to hear this- You. Left. Me. You all did. You left me at a time in my life where I needed you. And I love you to pieces, but right now I'm mad as hell."

There's a few beats of silence before Alice speaks again. "I probably deserved that." She said, quietly.

"You did." I tell her, simply.

She sighs again. "I have questions and you do too, but first I need to hunt."

A sudden fear grips me. I could feel the blood draining from my face. My stomach dropped, and all I could think about was another person I loved disappearing, slipping through my fingers like the wind and vanishing. "Don't go, Alice," I whispered, anger draining instantly, replaced by panic, and an icy terror. My fingers locked around the collar of her white shirt. "Please don't leave me." Her eyes opened wider.

"All right," she said, enunciating each word with slow precision. "I'm not going anywhere tonight." She waited till I was calmer to comment. "You look like hell, Bella."

"Well, obviously. I think over sixty percent of my body is covered in bandages."

"It goes deeper than that." She says, astutely, not at all distracted by my clumsy attempt at misdirection. "You're a mess, Bella." I flinched.

"I'm doing my best, Alice."

"What do you mean?"

"It hasn't been easy. You know, the whole abandoned by my vampire family thing, plus the whole best friend kidnapped by violent, bloodthirsty terrorists, who I don't know if they killed her or have kept her prisoner- or which of those two scenarios is worse, really, while at the same time being also being hunted down myself by said group of terrorists. So yeah, I look like hell Alice, but I'm working on it. Honestly," I sigh, "what did you think you were going to find? I mean, besides me dead? Did you expect to find me skipping around and whistling show tunes? You know my situation better then they. More importantly, you know me better than that."

"I do." She says softly. "But I hoped."

"Then I guess I don't have the only corner on the idiocy market." She looks down at her hands, a poor attempt at hiding the pain on her face, and I sigh. "Go hunt." I tell her, "You really look like you need it." And she did, with her black eyes, irises indistinguishable from the pupil. "I'll see you when you come back."

"I'll see you later, Bella." She says, quietly. "Soon."

"Soon." I agree. And then she was gone.

I had plenty to do to keep myself busy while I waited. After checking in with Charlie, a shower was definitely on the agenda. I made my way out of the living room, over to Charlie's bedroom, and knocked on his door. As I opened it, I wasn't exactly surprised to see him looking so downcast, but that didn't stop me from asking if he was okay.

"It's just been a hell of a day, Bells, with you almost dying and scaring about three decades off me, and Harry-" here his voice cracks and he quickly looks away from me, clearing his throat, obviously embarrassed by his obvious show of emotion, something supremely uncharacteristic for him. I was instantly concerned.

"What do you mean, Harry?" I ask. Could he be talking about Harry Potter, I think, bewildered by the idea.

"Nobody's said anything to you?" Charlie asks, and I shake my head, confused.

"I don't have a clue what you're talking about." Charlie's face turns even glummer then previous.

"Harry Clearwater died earlier today. Heart attack."

"What?" My eyes widen, and my heart thuds unsteadily. "Oh dad... I'm so sorry." He gives a weak sort of smile, looking at me with those calm, calm eyes.

"Don't worry about me, Bells. I'm a tough old geezer," he jokes, before he frowns slightly. "Bells, how are you feeling about... Alice being back?"

"Conflicted," I admit, before sighing. "I'm going to go get changed. I feel all gross."

"Okay Bells," Charlie says.

It's up in my room that I get my first real look at my appearance, and at the scarring Qiang had warned me of.

Most of my face was unmarked, barring a single angry red line along my jawline, disappearing under the bandage over my cheekbone and the one covering my neck.

I furiously blinked away tears. I wasn't a vain person by nature, but... it was much as Qiang had said. I was scarred. I wasn't my third year DADA professor 'Mad Eye' Moody standard yet, but as I carefully unrolled the bandages wrapped around my torso I revealed lines criss-crossing my stomach and chest, including my breasts, and where skin had been regrown they traced areas like landmarks on a map. Some were an angry red still, but most of them had sunken into my skin, forming a recognisable pink that I was scared would never completely fade away.

Pulling open my wardrobe, revealing the full body mirror inside the door, I twisted around to examine my back which had suffered the same treatment as my front, scars stretching form the base of my skull to halfway down my thighs. My elbows were also scarred from shoulder to elbow.

Purposefully turning my attention away from the mirror, I kicked the wardrobe door shut, pulling off my clothes in stiff, painful movements then swearing lightly under my breath as I had to open the wardrobe again (with its stupid mirror) to fish out a turtleneck jumper, which would hide everything from the base of my skull, to the start of my palms, and hung loose just below hip level.

When I was cleaned up, I went back downstairs. I passed the kitchen and couldn't see any signs that Charlie had eaten recently, and he would probably be hungry, but I was too tired and achey to do anything, so I moved to the living room and flopped down on the couch across from Charlie, cringing at the pain that flared from my rough movement.

Charlie instantly got up and started fussing until I convinced him that no, I didn't need another blanket, and no, he didn't need to order out for dinner, I wasn't that hungry and he could just heat up Thursday's casserole.

While the casserole rotated in the microwave, Charlie, despite my protests, made up the couch with sheets and an old pillow, his reasoning even if I didn't use it, Alice would need a place to sleep tonight.

I ate the casserole on the couch with Charlie, not tasting it-just feeling the ache as it slid down my raw throat. Mostly I was thirsty; I must have drunk a half gallon of water by the time I was finished, my body trying to replace the fluids that it had lost. Charlie didn't speak much through dinner, just sat there, downcast. He mentioned something about a funeral tomorrow (Harry's, I figured), before leaving back to his room.

I tried to watch TV while I waited for Alice to return. She didn't take long, slipping into the house like a ghost, sitting beside me on the improvised bed. Her eyes were a liquid butterscotch. She smiled and patted the pillow beside her as she nestled down next to me. "Thanks."

"Thank Charlie," I said, leaning my head on her shoulder. She put her cold arms around me and sighed.

"Bella. What are we going to do with you?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "I really have been trying my hardest."

"I believe you." It was silent.

"Does Edward know you're here?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

"No." She sighed, "He's not with Carlisle and Esme- he only checks in about once a month."

"Oh." I murmur, before turning to a safer topic. "No Jasper?"

Alice shook her head. "He didn't approve of my interfering. We promised..." she trailed off- she didn't need to say anything more and we both knew it. "How's everything going in... the wizarding world?" she asks, hesitantly. I give a humorless laugh.

"It's all just fucking peachy. I've lost count of the dead, I have no idea what's happened to Luna, I'm pretty sure Xeno's dead- and did I mention the backstabbing son of a bitch tried turning me over to Death Eaters?"

"What?" Alice gasps, looking horrified.

"Yep, and I've now officially killed four people- two vampires, two humans."

"Two vampires?" Alice asks, the look of horror still fresh on her face. I'm glad she has the foresight not to mention the dead humans- I don't think I could take discussing that right now.

"Laurent," I say, tiredly, "he came back. Tried to kill me, but I got him first. Victoria's also trying to kill me, by the way." She gapes at me and I roll my eyes. "Danger magnet, remember?" I remind her.

This time it's Alice who pulls me against her shoulder. "You look tired." She says, after a few minutes have passed.

"Yeah," I agreed, and shrugged (then made a mental note not to shrug again in the near future). "Near-death experiences do that to you... So," I only hesitated a moment before deciding I may as well jump right off the deep end- no point in beating around the bush. "You won't tell him, will you... when he checks in again?" I half ask, half state.

"No. He'd bite my head off," Alice said grimly. I laughed once, without humor, and then sighed.

I didn't really want to sleep. I wanted to stay up all night talking to Alice. But emotional trauma and nearly dying really had taken a lot out of me, and my eyes wouldn't stay open. I rested my head on her stone shoulder, and drifted into a more peaceful oblivion than I had any hope of.

I woke early, from a deep and dreamless sleep, feeling well-rested, but achey all over. My limbs were stiff and forcing them to move just made the ache sharper. Sleeping on a proper bed might have helped a bit, but I was still on the couch, tucked under the blankets.

I could hear Alice and Charlie talking in the kitchen. It sounded like Charlie was fixing her breakfast and I wandered into the kitchen to meet them. Charlie was dressed nicely in a black suit. "You look handsome." I tell him. He huffs, rolling his eyes.

"How do you feel?"

"Sore. Stiff." I tell him. He pulls a corked potion phial from his pocket, and goes slightly pink as I arch my eyebrow.

"Qiang dropped by earlier," he mumbles, "she cast a diagnosistic charm on you- you were still asleep- and said that you should be fine but to take this."

Blushing? First name? ...did Charlie have a crush?!?!

Storing that particular thought away for later, I scull the phial. The potion tastes like dead skin and decay and I grimace and gag, but the aching immediately eases up, and as I pull up the hem of my jumper, I'm pretty sure the livid red lines look a little less livid.

Alice makes a sharp hissing noise and I jump, dropping the hem of my top as I guiltily remember she hadn't seen the extent of the damage yet. I wince when I see the look of pure fury on her face, and I'm relieved beyond belief that that anger isn't directed at me, rather at the nameless, faceless Death Eaters.

Charlie looks pale too, but to my relief he doesn't comment, other then to say, "You be good today, Bells."

"No going to Britain, I promise." I vow and he nods.

"Good girl. I need to go." I kiss his cheek, and watch him leave out the door, hear the fading engine of the cruiser.

"How badly injured are you?" Alice demands.

"I'd be dead without magic." I admit. She hisses again.

"What happened? You went to Britain, and?"

"And a pair of Death Eaters jumped me for loitering near a Harry Potter sighting. I was stupid and they cursed me with a really Dark curse. I managed to get my wand back but I was in fight or flight mode and panicking. I wasn't thinking of anything except getting back to America, so... I attempted apparating back. Obviously, it didn't end well. If one of the wolves hadn't found me, I'd be very dead right now."

Alice looks confused. "Why can Snatchers apparate to different countries?" She asked.

"They can't. Not really. Think of a series of jumps- to get from point A to point B, they have to stop at point C, D, E, F and G. That's why when the Snatchers came after me when I used magic on James, it wasn't instantaneous- it took them time, and that time was my saving grace." I explain the best I can.

"And you didn't think to do that because you reacted on impulse." Alice surmises.

"I'd just been tortured." I look down at my (scarred) hands.

"Shit," Alice swears softly, the profanity strange to hear from her trilling, bell-like voice. "Tortured?"

"Think every pain reactor in the body set off at once."

"Oh Bella," Alice wraps her arms around me. "I'll forgive you your stupidity this once," she promises. "But you are never allowed to do anything like that again."

I don't promise anything. If she notices, she doesn't say anything.

It would have been a long day of bed rest, all laid up on the couch, without Alice, but instead we spent the morning talking- like we'd never been parted.

I brought her up to date on my, well, on our high school friends and what they been up to since she'd left. She was interested to hear about Katie and Angela, and was intrigued with Morte Alley. She told me a bit about her and Jasper's travelling, and Esme's art studio. I told her about how I was thinking about applying to Salem Witches Academy.

We didn't talk about Edward or the War.

It was near lunchtime when Jacob rang. I summon the phone over to me, too lazy to make my aching body actually move.

"Hi Jake," I greet the caller, happily enough, recognising the number. His voice, as he responds, has none of my levity.

"Bella, you need to get out of there," Jacob said- urgently. "There's a vampire nearby- my car's out the front, can you walk? I can come in and get you- yeah, just wait I'll be there in one-"

"Jake, it's one of the Cullens." I interrupt him, before he actually does break down the door of my house to 'rescue' my sorry self.

An actual growl passes through the phone line.

"Is it him?" he demands, and I know exactly which 'him' he's talking about.

"No, it's Alice."

"This isn't good." There was an undertone of a growl in his voice. "I need to go tell Sam right away. This changes things. We can't be caught on their territorty."

"Goddamn it Jake, this isn't a freaking war!" I snap. He doesn't respond to that.

"I have to go." He says instead, abruptly, before hanging up. I actually throw the phone at the wall, my hands bunched into fists.

"You're all idiots!" I groan, "the whole lot of you- bloody idiots! Why can't you just get along?"

"It's not in our natures," Alice says, quietly, and I sigh, running my hands through my hair, before summoning the phone back and tossing it on the couch across from me. "What should we do?" Alice asks, obviously trying to lighten her voice.

"I really don't feel like moving. Movie?" I suggest. She smiles.

"I'll do your hair and nails."

We were nearing the end of Edward Scissorhands and my nails were blue with bronze tips while my hair was all dressed up in a series of elaborate braids when the doorbell rang. I looked behind me at Alice and her perplexed expression, accompanied by a slight pout, told me that she'd been taken by surprise.

Which wasn't common.

"Hold on!" I shouted in the general direction of the front door, forcing myself to my feet. I was stiff and sore, but I was less stiff and sore. "It's probably Angela and Katie." I tell her, wincing as I stretch.

"Bella," Alice said with a trace of frustration in her voice, "I'm fairly certain that's not Angela and Katie. I think I'd better step out."

"What?" I frowned.

"If this is a repeat of my egregious lapse in foresight yesterday, then it's most likely Jacob Black or one of his... friends." I stared at her, putting it together.

"You can't see the shape-shifters?" I guessed. She grimaced.

"So it would seem." She was obviously annoyed by this fact- very annoyed. It was actually quite endearing. The doorbell rang again-buzzing twice quickly and impatiently.

"You don't have go anywhere, Alice. You were here first." She laughed her silvery little laugh- it had a dark edge.

"Trust me Bella- it would not be a good idea to have me and Jacob Black in a room together right now." She kissed my cheek swiftly before she vanished through the kitchen, and out the back door, no doubt.

The doorbell rang again, and I managed to walk vaguely like a functioning human being, not a stiff-limbed puppet or a zombie, dragging my limbs after me, over to open it.

Jacob was standing about six feet back from the door, his nose wrinkled in distaste, but his face otherwise smooth-masklike. He didn't fool me; I could see the faint trembling of his hands.

Hostility rolled off of him in waves and his car idled by the curb with Jared behind the wheel and Embry in the passenger seat. I understood what this meant: they were afraid to let him come here alone. It annoyed me- immensely.

"Hi," I greeted him when it looked like he wasn't going to speak, working on keeping my voice level.

Jacob pursed his lips, still hanging back from the door. His eyes flickered across the front of the house. I fought the urge to grind my teeth. "She's not here, Jake. Do you need something?" He hesitated.

"You're alone?"

"Yes." I sighed.

"Can I talk to you a minute?"

"Of course you can, Jacob. Come in, I'd really prefer to be sitting right now." Jacob glanced over his shoulder at his friends in the car. I saw Embry shake his head just a tiny bit. This bugged me to no end.

My teeth clenched together again. "Chicken," I mumbled under my breath.

They all heard me.

I had no regrets.

It was with no small amount of disbelief that I sat on my couch as Jacob quizzed me; no, I had to tell him, the Cullens weren't returning, yes, I had told Alice about Victoria...

The shrill ring of the phone, next to Jake on the couch where I'd tossed it before, interrupted his interrogation, and Jacob reached it first.

"Swan residence," he said, his voice low and intense.

Someone answered, and Jacob just changed in an instant. He straightened up, and his eyes went flat, his face blank, and I would have bet the measly remainder of my 'college fund' (what college fund?) that it was Alice.

I recovered myself and held out my hand for the phone. Jacob ignored me. "He's not here," Jacob said, and the words were menacing.

There was some very short reply, a request for more information it seemed, because he added unwillingly, "He's at the funeral." Then Jacob hung up the phone. "Filthy bloodsucker," he muttered under his breath.

"Who did you just hang up on?" I demanded, infuriated. "In my house, and on my phone?"

"Easy! He hung up on me!"

"He?" Wait, what? "Who was it?!" Jacob sneered the title.

"Dr. Carlisle Cullen."

"Why didn't you let me talk to him?!" I demanded shrilly.

"He didn't ask for you," Jacob said coldly. His face was smooth, expressionless, but his hands shook. "He asked where Charlie was and I told him. I don't think I broke any rules of etiquette."

"You listen to me, Jacob Black-" But he obviously wasn't listening. He looked quickly over his shoulder, as if someone had called his name from the other room. His eyes went wide and his body stiff, then he started trembling. I listened too, automatically, but heard nothing.

"Bye, Bells," he spit out, and wheeled toward the front door.

Not fast enough. He could move quicker then a normal human, but while he had two legs a vampire was still faster.

Alice stood motionless at the foot of the stairs. "Bella," she choked. I managed to force my uncooperative body to my feet and lurch to her side in record time. Her eyes were dazed and far away, her face drawn and whiter than bone. Her slim body trembled to an inner turmoil.

"Alice, what's wrong?" I cried. I put my hands on her face, trying to calm her.

Her eyes focused on mine abruptly, wide with pain.

"Edward," was all she whispered.

 


	16. Chapter 16

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN:**   
  
  


_Draco walked down into the cellar, unsure whether he was pleased that it was this time of the day and he could see Luna again, or horrified, because he had to take in the situation of the young blond girl. The dark times had been taking their toll on the young Malfoy, and he looked permanently tired, with bags under his eyes, and his once immaculate hair verging on shaggy._

_Pushing open the cellar door, he ignored the old wandmaker, instead turning his attention to Luna._

_Luna smiled serenely up at the boy, her face showing none of the nervous excitement building up inside her. Something was about to happen- something big. For the first time in months, the young girl felt something other then the heaviness of despair, of anger and panic and grief- she felt hope._

_She could taste the freedom on her tongue._

_'Soon,' she promised herself, 'soon.'_

-

-

"Alice?" My voice was weak. "What happened?" I asked, even though I didn't want to hear.

"I don't know," she suddenly wailed. "What is he thinking?!" My shaking limbs barely produced the strength to hold me up, and even then I had to cling to Alice for balance a distracted Alice who wasn't even looking at me as she pulled a small silver phone from her bag. Her fingers dialed the numbers so fast they were a blur. "Rose, I need to talk to Carlisle now." Her voice whipped through the words. "Fine, as soon as he's back. No, I'll be on a plane. Look, have you heard anything from Edward?" Alice paused now; listening with an expression that grew more appalled every second. Her mouth opened into a little 'o' of horror, and the phone shook in her hand.

"Why?" she gasped. "Why would you do that, Rosalie?" Whatever the answer was, it made her jaw tighten in anger. Her eyes flashed and narrowed. "Well, you're wrong on both counts, Rosalie, so that  _would_  be a problem, don't you think?" she asked acidly. "Yes, that's right. She's alive—I was wrong, albeit only just... It's a long story... But you're wrong about that part, too, that's why I'm calling... Yes, that's exactly what I saw." 

Alice's voice was very hard and her lips were pulled back from her teeth. "It's a bit late for that, Rose. Save your remorse for someone who believes it." Alice snapped the phone shut with a sharp twist of her fingers. Her eyes were tortured as she turned to face me.

"Alice," I tried to explain. "Alice, Carlisle is back, though. He called just before..." She stared at me blankly. 

"How long ago?" she asked in a hollow voice.

"Half a minute before you showed up."

"What did he say?" She really focused now, waiting for my answer.

"I didn't talk to him." My eyes flickered to Jacob. Alice turned her penetrating gaze on him. He flinched, one hand on the doorknob, the pleading in my eyes the absolute only thing keeping him in place. 

"He asked for Charlie, and I told him Charlie wasn't here," he muttered resentfully.

"Is that everything?" Alice demanded, her voice like ice. The doorknob made a splintering noise.

"Then he hung up on me," Jacob spit back. A tremor rolled down his spine, shaking me with it.

"You told him Charlie was at the funeral," I reminded him.

Alice jerked her head back toward me. "What were his exact words?"

"He said, 'He's not here,' and when Carlisle asked where Charlie was, Jacob said, 'At the funeral.'" Alice moaned and sank to her knees. "Tell me Alice," I ordered. "What the hell's going on?" 

"That wasn't Carlisle on the phone," she said hopelessly.

"Are you calling me a liar?" Jacob snarled, actually releasing the poor abused doorknob o take a threatening step forward. Alice ignored him, focusing on my bewildered face, inches from her own.

"It was Edward." The words were just a choked whisper. "He thinks you're dead." Relief cleared my head.

"Rosalie told him I was dead, didn't she?" I said, sighing as I relaxed.

"Yes," Alice admitted, her eyes flashing hard again. "In her defense, she did believe it. They rely on my sight far too much for something that works so imperfectly. But for her to track him down to tell him this! Didn't she realize... or care...?" Her voice faded away in horror.

"And when Edward called here, he thought Jacob meant my funeral," I realized. Alice looked at me strangely. 

"You're not upset," she whispered.

"Well, it's bloody awful timing, but it'll all get straightened out. The next time he calls, someone will tell him... what... really..." I trailed off. Her gaze strangled the words in my throat.

Why was she so panicked? Why was her face twisting now with pity and horror? "Bella," Alice whispered. "Edward won't call again. He believed her."

"I. Don't. Understand." My mouth framed each word in silence. I couldn't push the air out to actually say the words that would make her explain what that meant.

"He's going to Italy." It took the length of one heartbeat for me to comprehend.

Italy. Volturi. The coven of vampires you didn't want to piss off unless you wanted to die.

I still remembered, all that time ago, when we were watching Romeo and Juliet die- in this very room. 'Well, I wasn't going to live without you,' he'd said. I think a part of me always knew he wasn't exaggerating when he said that. 

And that part of me was right.

An odd sort of calmness washed over me, so contrary to the raging emotions some part of me registered I should be feeling. 

" _How dare he?!_ " I breathed, low and dangerous. I took a few deep breaths, my mind racing. "How do we stop him?" 

"We may already be too late. I saw him going to the Volturi... and asking to die." We both cringed, and my eyes were suddenly blind. I blinked feverishly at the tears. "It all depends on what they choose. I can't see that till they make a decision." Alice fretted. "But if they say no, and they might—Aro is fond of Carlisle, and wouldn't want to offend him—Edward has a backup plan. They're very protective of their city. If Edward does something to upset the peace, he thinks they'll act to stop him. And he's right. They will." 

I stared at her with my jaw clenched in frustration. I'd heard nothing yet that would explain why we were still standing here. "So if they agree to grant his favor, we're too late. If they say no, and he comes up with a plan to offend them quickly enough, we're too late. If he gives into his more theatrical tendencies... we might have time." Alice thought out loud, face paler then bone. 

"Let's go!"

"Listen, Bella! Whether we are in time or not, we will be in the heart of the Volturi city. I will be considered his accomplice if he is successful. You will be a human who not only knows too much, but also smells unusual- which is very, very noticeable, especially for vampires this old! There's a very good chance that they will eliminate us all—though in your case it won't be punishment so much as dinnertime."

"This is what's keeping us here?" I asked in disbelief. "I'll go alone if you're afraid." I mentally calculated what money was left in my account, and wondered if Alice would lend me the rest.

"I'm only afraid of getting you killed." I snorted in disgust. 

"I almost get myself killed on a daily basis! Every second I'm alive, my life is in danger. Tell me what I need to do!"

"You write a note to Charlie. I'll call the airlines-"

"Charlie," I interrupt, worry flaring in me again. "Jake-" I turned to my almost forgotten friend. The doorknob had been pulled out of the door, and lay in splintered halves on the ground. I made an absent mental note to reparo it later.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to Charlie." Jacob's low voice was gruff and angry, but sincere. "Screw the treaty."

"Thank you," I told him.

"Hurry, Bella," Alice interrupted urgently, "Charlie will be back in a few minutes- we need to go!"

"Look, Alice, I need to talk to Charlie, you know- explain things. Give me five minutes, okay, then I'll take us to the airport." I tell her. "The time I can save travelling to the airport my way instead of by car gives me more then enough time to explain the situation to Charlie." Alice hesitates, looking extremely unwilling, then sighs. 

"Okay. But make it quick." She says, before disappearing.

"Jake, I need privacy," I tell him, turning to give him a serious look. He hesitates, and then sighs.

"I need to go talk to Sam anyway," he says before jogging out the front door, grimacing at the poor doorknob. I fix it with a flick of my wand, then summon my go-bag from upstairs. It soars down to me and I quickly sort through it, figuring out what I'm missing. Swearing aloud when I realize I can't find my passport, I force myself to stumble up the stairs, almost collapsing on all fours beside my bed, pulling my trunk out and flipping it open to find my passport, which I know is buried somewhere among the mess.

As I'm searching through the packed trunk, I spot something very familiar, yet so very alien. I hesitate for a moment, my fingers tracing over the smooth, curved snorkack horn Xeno gave me (before the bastard sold me out to the Snatchers), before making my decision and picking it up, slipping it into the pocket of the coat I hastily pull on over my turtleneck, alongside my DA galleon and wand- snorkack's, according to Luna, were lucky, and I would need all the luck I could get to pull this off.

Finally fishing my passport out from underneath my copy of 'Standard Book of Potions, Grade Six', I toss it in my go-bag, shove my trunk back under the bed, and make my way downstairs. I think about grabbing something to eat before flopping back down on the couch, but my stomach is twisting in anxious knots, and I don't think I could stomach anything.

I'm relieved when I hear the unmistakable sound of Charlie's cruiser pulling into the driveway. It feels like my whole body is vibrating as I wait for him to walk into the house.

"Bells?" he frowns, seeing the anxiety in my face, the tenseness to my posture. His eyes widen slightly as he takes in the bag next to me, and the coat I'm wearing over my turtleneck and jeans. He's still dressed in his black suit, but the jacket's unbuttoned and his tie is crooked. His eyes are suspiciously red-rimmed.

"Charlie," I tell him, my hands shaking slightly, "this is very, very important. Listen to me- the Cullens... they aren't what they seem." Charlie looks at me, confused. 

"What are you talking about Bella?" 

"You know how lots of magical creatures exist, like werewolves and faeries and stuff," I say, and he nods, still not seeming to process where I'm going with this. "Well, the Cullens aren't human. And they're not witches or wizards either."

"What are they?" Charlie asks, eyes wide. I sigh, knowing this isn't going to exactly go down well.

"They're vampires, dad."

"The Cullens are vampires?" Charlie says, in disbelief.

"The Cullens are vampires," I confirm. 

"The Cullens are vampires..." Charlie shakes his head, as if in denial. "Jesus Christ!" 

"There are two types of vampires out there," I tell him, nervously knotting my fingers together. "There are the vampires that drink human blood, and the ones who drink animal blood."

"The Cullens better drink animal blood," Charlie threatens and I nod.

"Don't worry," I assure him, "golden eyes mean they drink animals, red eyes are the mark of human drinkers."

"Jesus," repeats Charlie, "and the human drinking ones- do they-?"

"They kill their prey," I confirm, "once a vampire bites you, and it's next to impossible to survive." Charlie briefly shuts his eyes and I reach across, placing a hand on his forearm. "Dad, Edward's in trouble. I need to go help him."

"Wait- you dated a vampire?" Charlie half-shouts. 

"A good vampire," I remind him.

"You dated a vampire! An actual, real-life vampire!" Charlie moans, "I'm the  _Worst. Dad. Ever_!"

"Best dad ever," I disagree.

"He left you," Charlie suddenly accuses, "why should you help him? He broke your heart!"

"Because he left out a misguided effort to protect me," I say, quietly. "The Cullens have very good control, but it isn't easy for them to refrain from drinking human blood. The bloodlust is... strong. There was an incident and Jasper, well, he came too close to taking a nip for comfort."

"The Hale boy tried drinking your blood!" roared Charlie, fingers twitching like he wanted to go grab his gun and pepper Jasper with bullet holes. I decided to wait until later to inform him that a gun was no match for a vampire.

"He didn't mean to," I defend Alice's mate, "dad, it is really hard for a vampire to deny their baser instincts. The Cullens are some of the most controlled vampires I know-"

"You've met more vampires?" Charlie interrupts, incredulous. 

"Well, only one other in person, but I've read a lot about them," I admit. Charlie groans. 

"Jesus Christ," he mutters, before shaking his head slightly. "Okay, what mess has Edward got into?"

"Alice is a Seer, see," I try to keep my explanation as simple as possible, "and she saw me when I was, er, dying, except she didn't see me get rescued. So she thought I was dead, and she jumped on a plane to fly back here to see if she could be any sort of help. Except someone told Edward I was dead, and now... well, he's decided he doesn't want to live without me."

"But he left you," pointed out Charlie. I was pleased to see that Charlie was less antagonistic towards Edward now- I supposed that the revelation he'd left to try to help me had warmed my dad up to the love of my life. 

"He never stopped loving me, dad," I say, quietly, "and I never stopped loving him."

"Are you going to be in any danger?" Charlie says, after a short pause. 

"Minimal. Nothing I can't handle." I promise him, crossing my fingers behind my back. He sighs.

"I suppose me accompanying you is out of question?"

"Sorry dad," I apologize, and he sighs again. 

"You check in with me twice a day, you hear? I don't care what time it is," he orders and I smile.

"I promise dad," I tell him. Acting slightly on impulse, I lean forwards and hug him, resting my cheek against his chest. He hugs me back, a touch awkwardly, but still very genuine.

"Love you Bells," he says, voice gruff with emotion he's trying to hide. 

"I'll see you in a few days, dad," I tell him back, "I love you too." I add. 

Alice meets me at the front door. I'm not sure how much of our conversation she overheard, but it doesn't show on her face, and I don't bring it up. 

"Are the toilets in the airport empty? The ones on the second floor?" I ask her. She frowns slightly, her eyes going blank for a few seconds, before clearing up again and she nods. 

"Empty," she confirms. 

"Good," I say, fastening my hand around her upper-forearm. It feels like I'm touching cold stone, and the temperature, the texture, all make me think of one vampire in particular- one vampire I'm actually going to see again, when I thought for so long I'd never see his face again outside of my dreams or hallucinations.

Wand in hand, I cast a quick disillusionment charm over us both- no use tempting fate- then prepare to twist on the spot, to apparate us to a bathroom I remember from the disastrous trip to Phoenix- I was highly out of it at the time, after all I did have a sadistic, bloodthirsty vampire after me and I had just left Edward behind, but I still had a foggy recollection.

But I couldn't. Fear froze me, made my breath come too quickly. Releasing Alice like I was dropping hot coal, I took several steps backwards, gasping aloud. My hands were shaking, and all I could remember was the fear and the confusion and the  _painpainpain_ \- "The Weber's," I say, "they can get us to Morte Alley, and we can get a Portkey straight to Italy from there."

Alice looks at me, a mix of anxiety and pity in her gaze. I don't look away, even with the prickling feeling of shame in my stomach. 

Alice drives like a madwoman, breaking every single traffic law in Forks, Carlisle's poor car squealing to a standstill outside the Weber's. Isaac and Isaiah are peering out the front window looking impressed. Angela just about runs out the front door over to us.

"Bella! What the heck's going on?" she demanded, before her eyes flicked over to- " _Alice_?" 

"We need to use your Floo- is that okay?" I rush out. Angela looks at me- hard. 

"Are you going to do something stupid?" she demands. 

"Quite possibly, but you can't stop me. It's  _Edward_ , Angela!" A handful of tense seconds pass, then Angela sighs and nods.

"Fine. Come in."

She leads us to the fire-place; big enough for three full-grown males to stand in, side-by-side, it looks remarkably out of place in the Weber's otherwise modern home. 

Angela produces the tin of Floo powder, and I flick my wand, muttering a quick ' _incendio_!'. Orange flames turn green as I toss in the handful of powder, and I look Alice in the eyes. "Trust me?" 

"With my life." Alice says, without pause. 

I pull her into the fire.

"Morte Alley!"

-

It's a well-practiced route for me, from the Floo central to the Portkey shop I'd purchased my transportation to Britain from. 

"Give me your purse," I tell Alice, and she hands it over without saying a word. "Wait here," I then order her, tossing a notice-me not charm over her for good measure, before ducking inside. 

I'm not sure exactly how well a vampire would be received. 

"Ah, Bella," the person- Jackson Freeman- behind the counter greets me.

"I'm sorry, I'm in a huge rush, I need to Portkey that takes me to Italy." I tell him. 

"Italy, huh?" Jackson says, "well, the fastest one I can get you will take you to Florence- that good enough?" 

"Is that close to Tuscany?" I ask, anxiously.

"'Bout a hundred kilometers."

"That's fine," I sigh in relief. "I'll pay you double if you can get it ready within the hour," I bargain. He nods, brightening, and gives me a toothy grin.

"I'll see you in sixty minutes then, darl'."

I exit the shop to see an anxious Alice who's tapping her foot on the ground, even as she speaks into the small silver phone. Seeing me emerge from the shop, she hangs up and turns to me. "Do I get an explanation yet?" she asks, and I give her a weak smile.

"How do you feel about being in Italy in an hour?"

 


	17. Chapter 17

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:**   
  
  


_The emaciated girl, skin white as a vampire's, yet whose body showed the fragility the marble-skinned creatures never could, was curled up in the corner of the dim cell, hugging her knees to her chest. This wasn't an unusual situation- it was cold down in the cellar, very cold. Sometimes she and Mr. Ollivander cuddled together, trying to preserve some sort of warmth_

_But Mr. Ollivander wasn't well today- she could hear him shivering, yet his body was burning up. Luna had sacrificed some of her meager supply of water to wet a torn piece of fabric to place over his forehead, trying to cool his fever. It wasn't working, and Luna was scared, oh so very scared. Because she didn't want to be alone, down in this dark, dank hole of despair._

_Raised voices in the rooms above her pierced the silence of the cellar, and Luna's ears pricked slightly, her head starting to beat quicker in her chest._

_Was this what the Nargles had been telling her? She wondered. Her body was trembling, except this time it wasn't the cold that was doing it, rather a mix of fear and excitement._

_"HERMIONE! HERMIONE!" a voice started shouting, over and over, and Luna's heart leapt in her chest._

_She knew that voice- she knew it oh so very well._

_That's why she wasn't surprised in the slightest when the door of the cellar was flung open, revealing two very familiar figures. One of them was tall and gangly, with freckles and red hair. And the other, the other was someone who held a very special place in her heart. Despite the way his features were swollen and shiny red, she knew who he was, she knew his messy black hair and those vivid, vivid green eyes._

_Harry Potter was here. And this, this was the test, where everything would either come together, or fall apart._

_Whether she lived or died would depend on the next hour or two. But either way, she would finally be free of this cellar, this prison- either Harry would free her, or death would._

-

-

The Portkey takes us to Mercato Magia, the Wizarding equivalent to Morte Alley in Florence, Italy. Alice looks completely disorientated, and I'm reminded that this is the first time she's ever used a Portkey- first times are always hard. I remember throwing up all over myself, and I wasn't using an International one at the time!

"Where are we?" she groans, rubbing her eyes. 

"Mercato Magia," I tell her, "its somewhere in Florence. Around a hundred kilometers from Tuscany." 

"So we're in Italy," Alice says, slowly, and a fierce smile crosses her face. "Excellent!" Her eyes suddenly go blank, and my stomach crawls with nerves at the sign of the vision.

"Al?" I say, when her eyes focus again, "what's wrong?"

"It's not wrong, exactly." She looked grim. "It's not right, either, though; Edward just reached Volterra."

"How far away is Volterra?" I ask, stomach crawling with nerves.

"Is there any magical way we can get there?" she presses, and I shake my head.

"No," I say, quietly, "I've never been there so I can't apparate, and there's no wizarding market place in Volterra for us to Portkey to. How... Alice, how far is Florence from Volterra?" 

"That depends on how fast you drive... Bella?"

"Yes?" She eyed me speculatively. "How strongly are you opposed to grand theft auto?"

Despite the fact I was the daughter of a policeman, I felt very little guilt for the theft of the extremely expensive Lamborghini Murciélago. A quick spell changed the color of the paint, and a notice-me not charm on the number plates ensured we wouldn't be pulled over by the police. 

As we raced through the countryside, I paid little attention to the landscape blurring past. As per Charlie's request, I borrowed Alice's phone to text him, saying that everything was fine (not really, but I was in one piece, wasn't I?). 

"Can you text Jazz that we're in Italy?" Alice requested, not looking away from the road. I nod, doing as she asked. I've barely pressed the send button when the silver cell let out a shrill ring. 

Alice swiped it from my hands in a movement too quick for my human eyes to follow, resting it in the crook of her neck. I tried to tune out what Alice was murmuring to who I picked up was Jasper, but some slipped through. 

I really wished it hadn't.

"I don't know what they'll tell him... don't know how he'll react either... won't be good... if I had to guess, a killing spree through the city, attacking the guard, lifting a car over his head in the main square... mostly things that would expose them—he knows that's the fastest way to force a reaction... No, you can't." Alice's voice dropped till it was nearly inaudible, though I was sitting inches from her.

Contrarily, I listened harder. "Tell Emmett no... yes, stop him and Rose from leaving!... Think about it, Jasper. If he sees any of us, what do you think he will do?" She nodded. "Exactly. I think Bella is the only chance—if there is a chance... I'll do everything that can be done, but prepare Carlisle; the odds aren't good." She laughed then, and there was a catch in her voice. "I've thought of that... Yes, I promise." Her voice became pleading. "Don't follow me. I promise, Jasper. One way or another, I'll get out... And I love you."

She hung up, and leaned back in her seat, even as she pressed down on the accelerator harder. "I hate lying to him." She murmured.

"I don't understand," I tell her. "Why did you tell Jasper to stop Emmett, why can't they come help us?"

"Two reasons," she whispered, her eyes still closed. "The first I told him. We could try to stop Edward ourselves—if Emmett could get his hands on him, we might be able to stop him long enough to convince him you're alive. But we can't sneak up on Edward. And even if the Volturi decide not to kill him straight away, he'll do something to provoke them into executing him- and if he sees us coming for him, he'll just act that much faster. He'll throw a Buick through a wall or something, and the Volturi will take him down." She sighed.

"And then there's the second reason of course, the reason I couldn't say to Jasper. Because if they're there and the Volturi kill Edward, they'll fight them. Bella." She opened her eyes and stared at me, beseeching. "If there were any chance we could win... if there were a way that the four of us could save my brother by fighting for him, maybe it would be different. But we can't, and, Bella, I can't lose Jasper like that."

I realized then why her eyes begged for my understanding. She was protecting Jasper, at our expense, and maybe at Edward's, too. I understood, and I did not think badly of her. I nodded.

"Couldn't Edward hear you, though.'" I asked. "Wouldn't he know, as soon as he heard your thoughts, that I was alive, that there was no point to this.　　

"If he were listening," she explained. "But believe it or not, it's possible to lie with your thoughts. If you had died, I would still try to stop him. And I would be thinking 'she's alive, she's alive' as hard as I could. He knows that." I ground my teeth in mute frustration.

"Stupid bloody moronic-" I kept up a stream of unsavory profanities under my breath as we raced through the countryside. 

With the time-difference between America and Italy, it was nearing lunchtime when Alice received her vision. The split-second her eyes went blank were among the more terrifying moments of my life, and the car swerving didn't help. 

I cursed- loudly- and Alice gave me an apologetic look in the rearview mirror. 

"Sorry," she said, before she gave a fierce grin. "The Volturi are deliberating, but they've already decided to tell Edward no."

"Thank Merlin," I sigh, slumping in relief, "What do they say?"

"They're interested in him—they think his talent could be useful," Alice explains, "They're going to offer him a place with them."

"What will he say?"

"I can't see that yet, but I'll bet it's colorful." She grinned again. "This is the first good news—the first break. They're intrigued; they truly don't want to destroy him—'wasteful,' that's the word Aro will use—and that may be enough to force him to get creative. The longer he spends on his plans, the better for us." 

"It's a good thing they're self-centered, greedy bastards then." I say. Alice nods, in complete agreement. 

"And it's a good thing we've almost reached Volterra." She says, her face turning serious again. "Because Edward's reaction to this is not going to be rational." The nerves return to my stomach and I frown.

"Damn."

The next ten minutes is spent in silence. Alice is the one that breaks it.

"There," she says abruptly, pointing to the castle city atop the closest hill. I supposed the city was very beautiful. It absolutely terrified me.

"Volterra," Alice announced in a flat, icy voice. 

The steep climb was the longest of my life, winding higher and higher, Alice darting around the cars the best she could before she had to slow to a crawl.

"I swear, if we all survive this, I'm going to fucking kill Edward." I mutter. Alice gives a sort of half laugh, half sob.

"I'll help."

"So how are we going to do this?" I asked, abruptly. 

"He has to see you before he sees me." Alice says. "Fortunately, he won't be looking for me at all yet- it should be impossible for me to be here. That gives us an edge. It'll help you get close enough to stop him."

"With magic?" I ask. Alice gives me a grim look.

"However you can."

We ditch the car as soon as we reach the nearest gate. Alice pockets the keys, and I leave my go-bag on the seat, pulling my wand out of my pocket, the tops of my fingers brushing reassuringly against the snorkack horn and DA galleon as I did so.

"Let's get out here," Alice says, voice strained. 

It takes a few seconds to cast disillusionment charms over us. The spell was easily enough to fool a human, but vampire eyes would be able to pick it up easily. Tricking human eyes, though, was all we needed right now. 

Alice held me on her back, in a slightly awkward piggy-back position, as she moved like liquid lightning. I had to close my eyes against the harsh wind as they started watering hard enough to blind me as she wove through the small crowds, graceful as a gazelle, deadly as a bullet. "Is it always this busy?" I ask her, my hands tightening in their grip on her shoulders in my panic.

"Tomorrow is St. Marcus day," she murmured, "people are coming up here for it. We're lucky you got us here today- trying to get through these crowds tomorrow would be a nightmare."

She sucks in an unneeded breath, freezing suddenly. "What is it?" I demand, instantly. 

Alice's voice is hollow. "In exactly sixty seconds they're going to tell him no." My heart starts racing as I picture him trying to act one of the three Volturi leaders- that was a sure-fire way to get executed quick. 

"What's he going to do?" I ask, afraid.

"It's... chaotic." Alice whispers. One of her hands has released its hold on me, and is pressing against her temple. "I'm only getting flickers, he's changing plans so quickly..."

"What kinds of plans?" I press.

"Bad ones. He's angry, Bella; I think he's going to go hunting." I pale. 

"Can you find him?" I ask, urgently. Alice shakes her head, as if trying to get water out of her ears. 

"I- I can't! Everything's so chaotic!" 

"His scent, then- can you follow his scent?" I coax, trying to calm the panicking vampire, while attempting not to panic myself. The thought of Edward's legacy being a trail of bodies... I can't think like that.

Alice lets out a sudden little moan of relief. "Alice?"

"He's changed his mind."

"Thank Merlin." I breathe. "He wouldn't want to disappoint Carlisle." Not at the end.

"Yes," she agrees. "Most likely."

"Do you have a location, Alice? Do we have enough time to stop him?" 　　

"Easily enough time if he sticks to his latest decision. It's the getting close to him part that's going to be a bitch." She says, having lost the tension in her shoulders.

"What is his latest decision?" I press. 

"He's going to keep it simple. He's just going to walk out into the sun." Just walk out into the sun. That was all.

But it would be enough. The image of Edward in the meadow—glowing, shimmering like his skin was made of a million diamond facets—was burned into my memory. No human who saw that would ever forget.

The Volturi couldn't possibly allow it. Not if they wanted to keep their city inconspicuous.

"Shit." I looked at the slight gray glow that shone through the opened windows. "What do you mean we have time? We'll be too late," I whispered, my throat closing in panic.

Alice shook her head. "Right now, he's leaning toward the melodramatic. He wants the biggest audience possible; tomorrow is St. Marcus Day, there will be thousands of people in the main plaza. He's planning to stand under the clock tower- the walls are high there. He'll wait till the sun is exactly overhead."

"So we have until tomorrow noon?"

"If he sticks with this decision. And if I don't get close enough that he hears me."

"Well how the bloody hell am I supposed to find him?" My voice is getting shrill as my stress levels rise.

"I know where he's going to be... in approximately five minutes. He's just stormed out of the castle... he's still angry right now, furious in fact." Alice starts moving again, moving in one direction with a single-minded purpose.

"How are we going to do this?"

"I'm going to have to get you as close as I can, and then you're going to run in the direction I point you." Alice plans, aloud. "I won't be able to go under the sun-"

"Not a problem," I interrupt her, "The disillusionment spell will hold. You'll get me to him quicker then if I run." Alice hesitates for a second then nods.

"If you think you can do it." She says. 

The sun continued to climb in the sky while Alice raced against it. It was too bright, and that had me panicking. Maybe he wouldn't feel the need to wait for tomorrow noon after all.

The sun was plenty bright right now.

We were in a nondescript street when Alice turned into a statue. "I can't go any closer," she breathed, "he'll be able to smell me. You need to do it from here."

I slide off her back, taking a few shaky steps, feeling as wobbly as a newborn calf, my legs screaming their protest, the angry livid scars letting out raw flashes of pain. I let the disillusionment spell slide off me like water. Nobody notices- the street is nearly empty anyway, I can barely even see Alice, hiding in the shadows.

She points to where the street branches out into an alley. "He's about to step out of there in—" Her breath caught suddenly, and when she spoke again, her voice was a low, quiet hiss. "They're watching him!" I froze in place, but she gave me a light push. "Forget about them. You have two min- NO!" 

Her face has been transformed into a mask of horror. "He heard me," she moaned, and my heart froze. I remembered what Alice had said before in the car- that if he heard one of them, one of the Cullens, he'd act at once, throw a Buick through a wall or something.

"Oh hell!" the expletive bursts from my mouth, and I'm sprinting towards the alleyway entrance, having no idea how much time I have, what the idiot love of my life is going to do.

I spot him the moment I stumble in the entrance, half falling against rough, concrete wall of the side of the building closest to me. Edward's standing just a few feet from the mouth of the alley, just a few feet from  _me_.

I could see him so clearly- his eyes were black, the rings underneath them deep purple, his arms stiff at his sides, his hands clenched into fists. His expression was one of fury.

"You freaking moron!" I yell at him, and black eyes turn to me, but don't seem to register what they're seeing. I stumble into him, my arms wrapped around his waist, my face pressed against his icy chest.

"You bastard," I moaned against the hard planes of his chest, "I'm going to kill you for doing that to me! You motherfucking arsehole dickhead!" The rare expletives I allowed myself were extremely satisfying, and relief filled me, although the blank confusion in Edward's eyes was still... worrisome. 

"Amazing," Edward said as he looked down at me with quiet surprise, his voice full of wonder, slightly amused. "Carlisle was right."

"Edward," I growl at him, "I'm alive, you arse!" He seemed bemused. His hand brushed softly against my cheek. 

"They must have changed their mind... I'm glad. I can't believe how quick it was. I didn't feel a thing—they're very good," he mused, closing his eyes again and pressing his lips against my hair. His voice was like honey and velvet. "Death, that hath sucked the honey of thy breath, hath had no power yet upon thy beauty," he murmured, and I recognized the line spoken by Romeo in the tomb. 

"I'M NOT DEAD!" I shout, and in a move of what was probably infinite stupidity I brought my hand to my mouth, latched onto a cuticle with my teeth and ripped it away. A sharp sting, and a small bead of blood instantly forms. Edward freezes.

" _Bella_ ," he breathes, looking at me with clear eyes for the first time. Naturally, I start crying.

Naturally, this is also when the watching Volturi decide to make their appearance.

 


	18. Chapter 18

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:**   
  
  


Edward reacts at vampire speed, too fast for me to follow until its already over, spinning me effortlessly so that my back was tight against the alley wall, and his back was to me as he faced away, deeper into the alley where he'd emerged. His arms spread wide, protectively, in front of me. The churning of my magic warned me what was about to happen, and I quickly sucked my thumb into my mouth, not wanting to be bleeding around human drinking vampires. 

"Greetings, gentlemen," Edward's voice was calm and pleasant, on the surface. I peered under his arm to see two dark shapes detach themselves from the gloom. "I don't think I'll be requiring your services today. I would appreciate it very much, however, if you would send my thanks to your masters."

"Shall we take this conversation to a more appropriate venue?" a smooth voice whispered menacingly.

"I don't believe that will be necessary." Edward's voice was harder now. "I know your instructions, Felix. I haven't broken any rules."'

"Felix merely meant to suggest that perhaps you should thank our masters in person," the other shadow said in a soothing tone. They were both concealed within smoky gray cloaks that reached to the ground and undulated in the wind. 

"I'll be right behind you," Edward said dryly. "Bella, why don't you go back to wherever Alice is waiting?"

"No, bring the girl," the first shadow said, somehow injecting a leer into his whisper.

"I don't think so." The pretense of civility disappeared. Edward's voice was flat and icy. His weight shifted infinitesimally, and I could see that he was preparing to fight.

"No." I mouthed the word.

"Shh," he murmured, only for me. The words 'don't tell me what to do' were on the tip of my tongue, but I decided that, for now anyway, I should keep my smart mouth to myself.

"Felix," the second, more reasonable shadow cautioned. "Not here." He turned to Edward. "Aro would simply like to speak with you again, if you have decided not to force our hand after all."

"Certainly," Edward agreed. "But the girl goes free."

"I'm afraid that's not possible," the polite shadow said regretfully. "We do have rules to obey." 

"Then I'm afraid that I'll be unable to accept Aro's invitation, Demetri."

"That's just fine," Felix purred. My eyes were adjusting to the deep shade, and I could see that Felix was very big, tall and thick through the shoulders. His size reminded me of Emmett.

"Aro will be disappointed," Demetri sighed.

"I'm sure he'll survive the letdown," Edward replied. Felix and Demetri stole closer toward the mouth of the alley, spreading out slightly so they could come at Edward from two sides. They meant to trap him, corner him.

Edward didn't move an inch. He was dooming himself by protecting me. 

The moron- I could take care of myself.

Abruptly, Edward's head whipped around, and Demetri and Felix did the same, in response to some sound or movement too subtle for all my senses except the slight tingling of my magic- Alice had approached.

"Let's behave ourselves, shall we?" Alice suggested lightly. "There are ladies present." The pixie-like vampire tripped lightly to Edward's side, her stance casual. There was no hint of any underlying tension. She looked so tiny, so fragile. Her little arms swung like a child's.

Yet Demetri and Felix both straightened up, their cloaks swirling slightly as a gust of wind funneled through the alley. Felix's face soured. Apparently, they didn't like even numbers. Definitely something they had in common with Death Eaters. 

"Guys," I spoke up for the first time since the Volturi guards had appeared, "let's just go with them then we can get out of here."

"The human is clever for her species," the voice was high and reedy and came from behind us. 

I peeked under Edward's other arm to see a small, dark shape coming toward us. By the way the edges billowed, I knew it would be another one of them. Who else?

At first I thought it was a young boy. The newcomer was as tiny as Alice, with lank, pale brown hair trimmed short. The body under the cloak—which was darker, almost black—was slim and androgynous.

But the face was too pretty for a boy. The wide-eyed, full-lipped face would make a Botticelli angel look like a gargoyle. Even allowing for the dull crimson irises.

Her size was so insignificant that the reaction to her appearance confused me. Felix and Demetri relaxed immediately, stepping back from their offensive positions to blend again with the shadows of the overhanging walls. Edward dropped his arms and relaxed his position as well—but in defeat.

"Jane," he sighed in recognition and resignation. Alice folded her arms across her chest, her expression impassive.

"Follow me," Jane spoke again, her childish voice a monotone. She turned her back on us and drifted silently into the dark.

Felix gestured for us to go first, smirking.

This couldn't be good.

"Well, Alice," Edward said conversationally as we walked. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised to see you here."

"It was my mistake," Alice answered in the same tone. "It was my job to set it right."

"What happened?" His voice was polite, as if he were barely interested. I imagined this was due to the listening ears behind us.

"It's a long story." Alice's eyes flickered toward me and away. "In summary, she did almost die, but the doctors got to her in time."

I winced slightly- I could imagine what he was hearing in Alice's thoughts now. Visits to Britain, stalking vampires, encounters with Snatchers and Death Eaters, torture, all my new scars..."Hm," Edward said curtly, and the casual tone of his voice was gone. Black eyes focused intently on the scar stretching along my jaw, across my cheekbone, and disappearing under the turtleneck.

"Whoops?" I offered. He seemed unimpressed.

The Volturi's headquarters was amusingly stereotypical for a vampire. An underground lair, I found myself fighting the urge to smile as we were led through the gloomy passageways. The human receptionist pissed me off- she was a filthy, disgusting traitor who would burn in hell. She'd also probably die via exsanguination. 

No loss for the human species there.

The throne room was intimidating, and my magic crackled around me like electricity, invisible even to vampire eyes, but intense enough that I almost made a sound of discomfort. There were no artificial lights. The only furniture in the room were several massive wooden chairs, like thrones, that were spaced unevenly, flush with the curving stone walls. In the very center of the circle, in as light depression, was another drain. I wondered if they used it as an exit, like the hole in the street.

The room was not empty. A handful of people were convened in seemingly relaxed conversation. The exquisite faces all turned toward our party as we entered the room. Most of the immortals were dressed in inconspicuous pants and shirts—things that wouldn't stick out at all on the streets below. But the man who spoke first wore one of the long robes. It was pitch-black, and brushed against the floor.

He and two others sat on the thrones. All three looked very much alike, two even had the same flowing black hair. The other had a shock of snow-white hair—the same shade as his face—that brushed against his shoulders. Their faces had identical, paper-thin skin. The trio from Carlisle's painting was complete, unchanged by the last three hundred years since it was painted.

I suppose the sight of the three could have looked terrifying, however the effect was lost on me. Compared to the numerous monsters, both creature and human, I've encountered in my lifetime, these three ancient vampires, while intimidating, didn't rank at the top of the fright scale. 

"Jane, dear one, you've returned!" one of the dark-haired ones- the one sitting on the middle throne- said in evident delight. His voice was just a soft sighing.

I couldn't decide if his face was beautiful or not. I suppose the features were perfect. But he was as different from the vampires beside him as they were from me. His skin was translucently white, like onion skin, and it looked just as delicate— I felt a strange, horrifying urge to touch his cheek, to see if it was softer than Edward's or Alice's, or if it was powdery, like chalk. His eyes were red, the same as the others around him, but the color was clouded, milky; I wondered if his vision was affected by the haze.

I watched, tense, as he- his name was Aro, I picked up, the white-haired one on his right was Caius, and the dark-haired one on his left Marcus- conversed with Edward and Alice. Next to no attention was paid to me, which I preferred, even as I kept my hand in my pocket, clenched around the handle of my wand. I wasn't pulled back into the conversation until Aro finally addressed me. 

"Bella," he addressed me directly now. "I'm fascinated that you are the one exception to Edward's impressive talent—so very interesting that such a thing should occur! And I was wondering, since our talents are similar in many ways, if you would be so kind as to allow me to try—to see if you are an exception for me, as well?"

My eyes flashed up to Edward's face questioningly. Despite Aro's overt politeness, I didn't believe I really had a choice. I was uncomfortable at the thought of allowing him to touch me, and yet also perversely intrigued by the chance to feel his strange skin. Of course, then there was the whole aspect I didn't even know what his Gift did...

Edward nodded in encouragement—whether because he was sure Aro would not hurt me, or because there was no choice, I couldn't tell. But I trusted him not to put me overtly in harms way.

I turned back to Aro and raised my hand slowly in front of me. I was proud it wasn't trembling. He glided closer, and I believe he meant his expression to be reassuring, but his papery features were too strange, too alien and frightening, to reassure. The look on his face was more confident than his words had been.

Aro reached out, as if to shake my hand, and pressed his insubstantial-looking skin against mine. It was hard, but felt brittle—shale rather than granite—and even colder than I expected. His filmy eyes smiled down at mine, and it was impossible to look away. They were mesmerizing in an odd, unpleasant way.

Aro's face altered as I watched. The confidence wavered and became first doubt, then incredulity before he calmed it into a friendly mask. "So very interesting," he said as he released my hand and drifted back.

My eyes flickered to Edward, and, though his face was composed, I thought he seemed a little smug- I'd obviously defeated Aro's Gift. Aro continued to drift when a thoughtful expression. He was quiet for a moment, his eyes flickering between the three of us. Then, abruptly, he shook his head.

"A first," he said to himself, "I wonder if she is immune to our other talents... Jane, dear?"

"No!" Edward snarled the word. Alice grabbed his arm with a restraining hand. He shook her off.

Little Jane smiled up happily at Aro. "Yes, Master?" Edward was truly snarling now, the sound ripping and tearing from him, glaring at Aro with baleful eyes. The room had gone still, everyone watching him with amazed disbelief, as if he were committing some embarrassing social faux pas. I saw Felix grin hopefully and move a step forward. Aro glanced at him once, and he froze in place, his grin turning to a sulky expression.

Then he spoke to Jane. "I was wondering, my dear one, if Bella is immune to you." I could barely hear Aro over Edward's furious growls. He let go of me, moving to hide me from their view. Caius ghosted in our direction, with his entourage, to watch. Jane turned toward us with a beatific smile.

"Don't!" Alice cried as Edward launched himself at the little girl.

Before I could react, before anyone could jump between them, before Aro's bodyguards could tense, Edward was on the ground.

No one had touched him, but he was on the stone floor writhing in obvious agony, while I stared in horror.

Jane- the She-Devil- was smiling only at him now, and it all clicked together. What I knew about the Volturi's formidable Gifts, why everyone treated She-Devil with such deference, and why Edward had thrown himself in her path before she could do that to me.

"Stop!" My voice wasn't hysterical, instead it was cold and icy in its intensity. She-Devil looked up at me, and the second her gaze moved from Edward, he stopped cringing. I stared at the She-Devil, focusing every single ounce of the hatred and disgust I felt for her in my gaze.

"Do you know what I am?" My voice was soft but had an undercurrent of threat to it. The vampires in the room looked surprised that a lowly human had dared speak up in their presence. 

"What are you child?" Aro asked, the ancient vampire sounding amused. I pulled my wand out of my pocket in a slow, deliberate movement, and twirled it through my fingers in a graceful move that was very unlike myself.

Aro and Caius's gazes were instantly fixed on my wand with a mixed sort of fear and intensity that seemed to confuse the other vampires in the room- even the She-Devil. Marcus, amazingly, still looked bored.

The Volturi- the only vampire coven in existence who knew of the wizarding world. Of course, there were a few scattered vampires here and there that knew, but the Volturi leaders were the ones who had been paid a...  _visit_  explaining what they needed to do if they wanted to keep existing. One of those laws directly prohibited the harm of a witch or wizard- and the consequences for disobeying this law were dire. And it was very obvious to anyone who knew of the wizarding world the emphasis that was placed on the so-called 'purity' of blood. Harming a pureblood... well, that was a situation to be avoided at all costs. So it was time to see how good I was at playing the Perfect Pureblood Princess. 

"I did not realize that your kind lowered themselves into having relations with our kind," Aro said, slowly. His eyes hadn't once left me, like I was the most important person in the room, the biggest threat of all.

He wasn't exactly wrong. 

"My father was displeased," I say, lightly, "he and mother had arranged my marriage before I was even three years old, after all, but seeing as my husband-to-be, Lord Li, is nearly two decades older then me, and has shared his bed with several mistresses, he did not begrudge me a lover of my own- as long as, of course, I provide him with an heir once I've finished my schooling. The fact my lover is a vampire is... well, Lord Li's philosophy on it is to each their own. After all, one of his lovers was a werewolf," here I screwed up my face in disgust, "of course, he had the filthy beast put down when he realized, but compared to sleeping with that  _thing_ , sleeping with a vampire isn't a problem at all. He just wants me to be happy." I add a dreamy smile to the end of this, all the while mentally apologizing to Professor Lupin and all the other werewolves out there for the lies dripping from my lips. "I like pretty things, and what I like, I get." I give Aro a sweet smile, eyes hard. "I really don't like my things broken."

"You are a Pureblood," Aro looks even more wary now, his eyes showing a brief flash of interest and intrigue. A thrill of victory rushes through me, though I take care not to let it show on my face.

"My family's blood is pure going back five generations," I say, with an arrogant tilt of the chin, "and now that you mention," I raised my wand, and swished it through the air, " _Expecto Patronum_!" 

There are startled sounds as a mountain lion of shining, shimmering silver light appears. It pads around me in a circle, head moving back and forth, scanning for Dementors. "Tell father I'm in Volterra conversing with the Italian vampire coven." I instruct it. It bobs its head up and down before leaping up into the air and vanishing. I turn back to face the three elders, a mocking smile on my face. "If you harm the Heiress to the House of Swan and fiancé to the Head of the most Ancient and Noble House of Li, you will all be slaughtered. I think you understand this."

"Master," the She-Devil spoke up, glowering at me, "what is she talking about? Let me kill her!"

"Dearest one," Aro said, eyes never leaving mine for a second, "please escort the Cullens and Miss Swan out." 

"Master!" protested She-Devil, and Aro made a sharp motion with his hand. 

" _Now_ , Jane," he said, sharply. 

"That's Heiress or Lady Swan to you," I corrected him, arrogantly. 

"Lady Swan," Aro's smile wasn't a very nice thing. "I think we will see each other again one day."

"Perhaps," I agree, "though I'm afraid I'll have to insist on father, Lord Li or one of father's hit-wizards accompanying me."

"So little trust you have in us," Aro said, faux-mournfully.

"Can you blame me?" I retort. He chuckles lightly, eyes fixed firmly on mine, and he nods his head slightly.

"I do not appreciate what's mine being broken either." He says, a subtle warning in his whispery voice, a promise. "Farewell, Heiress Swan." 

I dip my chin at him. "Farewell, Master Vampire." I say, diplomatically, and I'm rewarded with a sharp smile. 

The She-Devil leads the way from the throne-room, setting off the way we'd come in, the only exit by the look of things. Edward pulled me swiftly along beside him. "Faster," Edward said, face strained. 

Alice was close by my other side, and her face hard. "Not fast enough," she muttered. I stared up at her, confused, but she only seemed resigned. It was then that I first heard the babble of voices—loud, rough voices,  _human_  voices—coming from the antechamber.

"I had no idea this was here," a woman's gravelly voice commented.

"How old do you think it is?" an unpleasantly grating female voice questioned. "It must be thousands of years! I have no idea why it wasn't mentioned on the website..."

A large crowd was coming through the little door, filling the smaller stone chamber. The She-Devil motioned for us to make room and we pressed back against the cold wall to let them pass.

The two in front, a pair of women, American I was fairly certain, looked around themselves with interested eyes.

"Welcome, guests! Welcome to Volterra!" I could hear Aro sing from the big turret room.

The rest of them, maybe forty or more, filed in after the couple. Some studied the setting like tourists. A few even snapped pictures. Others looked confused, as if the story that had led them to this room was not making sense anymore. 

Edward pulled my face against his chest, but it was too late. I already understood.

As soon as the smallest break appeared, Edward pushed me quickly toward the door. I could feel the horrified expression on my face, and the tears beginning to pool in my eyes. Startled out of my frozen state by his abrupt action, my hand went to my pocket, to my wand, but Edward's cold hand trapped it before I could pull it out. The jerky movements had the snorkack horn cluttering out of my pocket but I ignored it, turning to face Edward with horrified eyes. "I can't do nothing!" I told him, voice verging on shrill.

"There's nothing we can do." He said, quietly. Anger boiled inside me, seeping through me like acid, burning in my veins. Furious and needing someway to vent, I drew my foot back and kicked the snorkack horn, hard, sending it flying across the room. It collided with the opposite wall and for a second nothing, and then an explosion, a crashing boom that threatened to burst my eardrums. 

I moved quickly, my hands fastening around the wrists of Edward and Alice, twisting on the spot, picturing the alley under the clock tower. A few seconds of the horrible sensation of apparation passed, and then the world cleared. We were standing in the alley, and my whole body was shaking as I stared straight ahead in disbelief. I was too shocked to even feel triumphant about the fact I had successfully apparated. 

"Edward," I said, my voice sounding much,  _much_  calmer then I felt. "I'm pretty sure that wasn't a bloody snorkack horn."

 


	19. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE:**

 

We caught a plane back to America. Well, technically we caught two planes. I spent most of both flights in Edward's arms. 

"I didn't know the Volturi knew about the wizarding world," Edward mentioned lightly, at one point during the flight from Rome to Atlanta.

"They keep the other vampires in line," I explain, "the Italian Ministry keeps a close eye on them to make sure they follow the laws."

"Laws?" Edward raises an eyebrow. I snuggle into his chest.

"Keep their existence hidden from muggles and hurting or killing a witch or wizard is punishable by death." I explain.

"What if the Kings got someone else to kill you?" Edward points out. I shake my head.

"It's not measured by the individual- if a member of a coven breaks the law, the whole coven if destroyed." Edward shudders, his arms holding me tighter. It's almost uncomfortable, the way he's constricting me, but it doesn't bother me. "Of course, they might have taken the risk if they knew I was a mudblood. We aren't valued as highly, which is why I tried to get across the point I was a Pureblood without actually coming out and saying it." I admit. "Especially if they're aware of the situation in Britain right now."

"You took a huge gamble." Edward states, running his fingers through my hair.

"And I'd do it again." I tell him, honestly. "I'd do anything for you- we both know that." Edward sighs.

"I know."

Neither Alice nor Edward was surprised by the reception that waited for us at Sea-Tac airport, but it caught me off guard. Jasper was the first one I saw- and he didn't seem to see me at all. His eyes were only for Alice. She went quickly to his side; they didn't embrace like other couples meeting there. They only stared into each other's faces, yet, somehow, the moment was so private that I still felt the need to look away.

Carlisle and Esme waited in a quiet corner far from the line for the metal detectors, in the shadow of a wide pillar. Esme reached for me, hugging me fiercely, yet awkwardly, because Edward kept his arms around me, too. "Thank you so much," she said in my ear.

Then she threw her arms around Edward, and she looked like she would be crying if that were possible. "You will never put me through that again," she nearly growled.

Edward grinned, repentant. "Sorry, Mom."

"Thank you, Bella," Carlisle said. "We owe you."

"Hardly," I said.

"You look exhausted," Esme said, concerned. I frowned, trying to remember how long it had been since I'd slept- I was probably overdue for forty-winks.

Edward led the way through the airport, never letting go of me. Reaching the car, I was surprised by the sight of Emmett and Rosalie leaning against the black sedan under the dim lights of the parking garage. Edward stiffened.

"Don't," Esme whispered. "She feels awful."

"She should," Edward said, making no attempt to keep his voice down.

"It's not her fault," I said.

"Let her make amends," Esme pleaded. "We'll ride with Alice and Jasper." Edward glowered at the absurdly lovely blond vampire waiting for us.

"Please, Edward," I said. I didn't want to ride with Rosalie any more than he seemed to, but I'd caused more than enough discord in his family. He sighed, and towed me toward the car.

Emmett and Rosalie got in the front seat without speaking, while Edward pulled me in the back again. Yawning, I laid my head against his chest, letting my eyes close. I felt the car purr to life.

"Edward," Rosalie began.

"I know." Edward's brusque tone was not generous.

"Bella?" Rosalie asked softly.

My eyelids opened in shock. I was pretty sure that this was the first time she'd ever spoken directly to me.

"Yes, Rosalie?" I asked, a touch warily.

"I'm so very sorry, Bella. I feel wretched about every part of this, and so grateful that you were brave enough to go save my brother after what I did. Please say you'll forgive me." The words were awkward, stilted because of her embarrassment, but they seemed sincere.

"Of course, Rosalie," I said, happy at the chance to make the radiantly beautiful vampire hate me a little less. "It's not your fault at all. I'm the one who went to Britain, after all. Of course I forgive you." I yawned again, halfway through the sentence, and Edward carded his hand through my hair.

"Let her sleep," he insisted, but his voice was a little warmer.

It was quiet then, except for the gentle thrum of the engine. I must have fallen asleep, because it seemed like seconds later when the door opened and Edward was carrying me from the car. At first I thought we were still at the airport, and then I heard Charlie.

"Bella!" he shouted from some distance.

"Charlie," I mumbled, shaking off the stupor enough to open my eyes.

"You're okay?" he demanded, rushing over.

"I'm fine," I assured him, "just exhausted. I haven't slept for the last twenty-four hours."

"Everything went okay, right?" he asks, "Edward seems to be in one piece, you're alive, everyone's home..."

"There was a miscommunication, but it's all sorted out now." Edward says. Charlie nods.

"So you didn't run into any trouble?" he asks me, hopefully. 

"Dad, it's me," I tell him, slowly, "of course we ran into trouble. But it's all sorted now."

"Sometime soon we're going to have a talk about Italian vampire covens, talking mountain lions made of shining light." Charlie informs me. I cringe slightly, remembering the Patronus I sent to my "faux-Pureblood Lord father"- I'd forgotten about that gambit, and hadn't actually considered that my Patronus would follow my instructions about going to my dad so bloody  _literally_!

"Okay," sighs Charlie, and then he smiles. "I've got a surprise for you."

"What is it?" I perk up. And then I almost fall out of Edward's arms in shock as a very familiar person trips lightly out of the house.

She was dressed in an eclectic mix of a purple dress with stars embroidered on it, blue and green striped tights with brown legwarmers. There was a bottle-cap necklace around her neck, two different earrings hung from her ears, her wand was tucked behind her left ear and her lips were painted a bright pink.

She looked different from the last time I'd seen her. Her skin was the same shade as Edward's, paler then pale, and she was nothing but skin and bones. Her hair resembled string, hanging limp around her face. There were faded scars visible on her collarbone, and crisscrossing the backs of her hands. But she was still undeniably and absolutely my best friend in the entire world- after all, no one else dressed as  _uniquely_  as she did.

"LUNA!" the choked cry that left my lips didn't even resemble my voice. Edward set me on my feet and I half staggered over to her, pulling her into my arms. Tears poured down my cheeks, and she buried her face in my shirt, clinging to me with the same sort of urgency as I was clinging to her.

"You're okay, you're alive, you're okay, you're alive," I mumbled, over and over. Luna pulled back slightly, and gave me the dreamy smile I missed so much, her silvery eyes sparkling with mischief. 

"Why yes,  _Miss Masen_ , I am." My cheeks flamed red, and I ducked my head slightly, unsure whether I was more mortified because Edward was right there, and he now knew I'd used his surname as my own, or because Luna had found out about it- and the transgressions that had accompanied it. 

"In hindsight, that probably wasn't the brightest idea I've ever had." I tell her, and she laughs.

"Perhaps not," she agrees.

"How in Merlin's name did you escape?" I ask her, "or did they let you go?"

"It was Harry Potter, of course," Luna sighs softly, her body swaying slightly, her eyes lidded, as she seems half trapped in her memory. "I wasn't surprised when he came," she informs me, expression clearing somewhat, turning more earnest, "the jibberwabbs had been telling me for days that I would be free soon. Of course, I didn't know whether they meant I would have escaped or if I'd be dead, but I'm rather glad I escaped."

"So am I." I tell her. Luna gives me another one of her dreamy smiles, before taking in my appearance as a whole. Obviously not approving of what she sees, she puts her hands on her hips.

"You look exhausted," she lectures me, "you haven't slept for days have you?"

"Just one day!" I protest, but she speaks over the top of me.

"And you're absolutely surrounded by  _wrackspurts_ \- you need to go to bed this instant, young lady!"

"Yes mom," I tell her, dutifully.

"I'll carry her up to bed," offers Edward. Charlie gives him a suspicious look, but Luna lays a small, thin hand on his arm before he can protest. 

"Mister Swan," she says, seriously, "your house has a serious shuffling whibblestumper infestation."

Leaving my poor father at the mercy of Luna's madness, I let Edward pick me up and carry me to my bedroom. As he places me on the bed, I can't help but cling onto his hand.

"Please... please be there when I wake up," I beg him, "even if it's just for a little while."

"I promise." He said, solemnly, and I closed my eyes, slipping into unconsciousness.

I dreamed of milky red eyes, pools of blood and gunshots. When I woke, I opened my eyes to a rather shocking sight.

"Holy crap!" I squeak, "it wasn't a dream!" And then I push myself into a sitting position and throw my arms around Edward, holding him tight, never wanting to let go. I'm crying again, which is just pathetic in a way, and I was honestly surprised my tears weren't all used up. But I did cry, and I did hold onto him.

"Isabella Marie Swan," he murmured, holding me close to his chest, "I lo-"

"No!" I jerked away from him, shaking my head. He looked a mixture of confused, hurt and accepting- the sort of acceptance that came when delivered a death sentence, after the hysteria and anger had passed, of course. "No," I repeat, "don't do that. Please. Don't make this any harder then it has to be."

"Make what harder?" he looks confused.

"You leaving again. It's already going to be hard enough." I say, softly.

"That's why you're pulling away?" he asks, "Not because I'm too late? Because I've hurt you too much? Because you have moved on, as I meant for you to? That would be... quite fair. I won't contest your decision. So don't try to spare my feelings, please- just tell me now whether or not you still love me, after everything I've done to you. Do you?" he whispered.

"What kind of an idiotic question is that?" I asked, staring at him with disbelief.

"Just answer it. Please." I glared at him darkly for a long moment.

"The way I feel about you will never change. Of course I love you- and there's nothing you can do about it!"

"That's all I needed to hear." His mouth was on mine then, and this time I didn't fight him-  _couldn't_  fight him. Not because he was so many thousand times stronger than me, but because my will crumbled into dust the second our lips met. This kiss was not quite as careful as others I remembered, which suited me just fine. If I was going smash my heart up further, I might as well get as much in trade as possible.

So I kissed him back, my heart pounding out a jagged, disjointed rhythm while my breathing turned to panting and my fingers moved greedily to his face. I could feel his marble body against every line of mine, and I was so glad he hadn't listened to me-there was no pain in the world that would have justified missing this. His hands memorized my face, the same way mine were tracing his, and, in the brief seconds when his lips were free, he whispered my name.

When I was starting to get dizzy, he pulled away, only to lay his ear against my heart. I lay there, dazed, waiting for my gasping to slow and quiet.

"By the way," he said. "I'm not leaving you." I didn't say anything, and he seemed to hear skepticism in my silence. He lifted his face to lock my gaze in his. "I'm not going anywhere. Not without you," he added seriously. "I only left you in the first place because I didn't want to put you in danger- you were safe in Forks, away from Britain, until I arrived, and you were risking your life every moment I was with you. So I had to try. I had to do something, and it seemed like leaving was the only way. If I hadn't thought you would be better off, I could have never made myself leave. I'm much too selfish. Only you could be more important than what I wanted... what I needed. What I want and need is to be with you, and I know I'll never be strong enough to leave again."

"You idiot," I tell him, and there are tears of frustration in my eyes, "you're not the most dangerous thing in my life- you're so far from it! Until this war is over, I'll always be in danger, but you helped! I can't face this alone- I need you by my side!"

"You have Luna now," Edward pointed out.

"But I didn't, Edward," I told him, strongly, "I didn't have anyone!"

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, and I shook my head.

"I barely coped when you left," I told him, my voice as calm as I could make it, "I don't think I'd be able to survive you leaving me again."

"I am never going to leave you again." Edward said, strongly. 

"And I'm going to hold you to that promise, you stupid, loveable bastard. Forever."

 


End file.
